IM Flash Technologies
Corporate brand
UnclaimedIM Flash Technologies was a semiconductor manufacturing joint venture between Intel and Micron that developed and produced advanced NAND flash and 3D XPoint memory.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
IM Flash Technologies, LLC was a semiconductor company established in January 2006 by Intel Corporation and Micron Technology, Inc. The venture was created to combine the partners' engineering, manufacturing, and capital resources for high-density nonvolatile memory. Its principal operations centered on a 300-millimeter wafer fabrication facility in Lehi, Utah, with a second 300-millimeter facility, commonly referred to as IM Flash Singapore, opening in April 2011. The company became associated with aggressive NAND flash process development. In 2008, IM Flash moved to 34-nanometer design rules, helping place the venture at the leading edge of NAND scaling. It subsequently developed 25-nanometer NAND devices using 193-nanometer immersion lithography and self-aligned double-patterning techniques. In 2011, it moved to a 20-nanometer process, described in contemporary accounts as the smallest NAND flash technology available at that time. These process achievements supported the partners' broader flash-memory businesses rather than establishing IM Flash primarily as a consumer-facing product brand. IM Flash later became a central manufacturing and development platform for 3D XPoint, a nonvolatile memory technology jointly developed by Intel and Micron and positioned between conventional DRAM and NAND in performance, persistence, and cost characteristics. The technology was intended for uses including data centers and high-end computing systems. IM Flash's Lehi operation continued to manufacture 3D XPoint memory while the two parent companies jointly pursued the technology. The strategic relationship changed in 2018. Intel and Micron announced in July that they would end joint development after completing the second generation of 3D XPoint. Future development beyond that generation would proceed independently, allowing each company to optimize the technology for its own products and business priorities. In October 2018, Micron announced that it intended to exercise a contractual call option to acquire Intel's remaining interest in IM Flash. Micron expected the transaction to involve approximately $1.5 billion in cash and the resolution of IM Flash member debt, reported at approximately $1 billion as of August 30, 2018. Micron completed the acquisition of Intel's interest on October 31, 2019. Following the transaction, the business was legally known as Micron Technology Utah, LLC, ending IM Flash Technologies as an independent Intel-Micron joint venture. In October 2021, Texas Instruments purchased the Lehi fabrication facility from Micron for $900 million. The transaction reflected a later change in the site's industrial role and should not be confused with the earlier ownership of the IM Flash venture itself. Because the company was absorbed into Micron's legal structure, IM Flash Technologies is best treated as a defunct or retired corporate identity rather than an active standalone brand.
History
IM Flash Technologies was formed in January 2006 as a joint venture of Intel Corporation and Micron Technology, Inc. Its purpose was to develop and manufacture advanced flash-memory technologies at scale. Rather than operating as a consumer-facing electronics brand, the company functioned as an industrial semiconductor organization whose output supported the parent companies' memory businesses. The venture's main site was a 300-millimeter wafer fabrication facility in Lehi, Utah. A second 300-millimeter facility, known as IM Flash Singapore, opened in April 2011, extending the venture's manufacturing footprint beyond the United States. The use of 300-millimeter wafers enabled more efficient production of memory devices than smaller wafer formats, while the company's engineering work concentrated on shrinking process geometries and improving manufacturing capability. IM Flash made several notable advances in NAND flash scaling. It moved to 34-nanometer design rules in 2008 and later developed 25-nanometer NAND chips using 193-nanometer immersion lithography together with self-aligned double-patterning. In 2011, it moved to a 20-nanometer NAND process, which was identified at the time as the smallest NAND flash technology available. These developments were important to the semiconductor industry because smaller process geometries could increase memory density and potentially reduce the cost per bit, although they also created increasingly difficult manufacturing and reliability challenges. The company subsequently became associated with 3D XPoint, a nonvolatile memory technology developed jointly by Intel and Micron. 3D XPoint was designed for applications requiring a combination of persistence and lower latency than conventional NAND, including data-center and high-end computing uses. IM Flash provided the manufacturing base for the technology, particularly at the Lehi facility. The venture therefore occupied an important position between process research, production engineering, and commercial memory supply. The Intel-Micron relationship changed in July 2018, when the companies announced that they would cease joint development of 3D XPoint after completing the second generation, expected in the first half of 2019. They stated that future technology development would be conducted separately so that each company could align the technology with its own products and business strategy. They nevertheless planned to continue manufacturing 3D XPoint memory at the IM Flash facility in Lehi. In October 2018, Micron announced its intention to exercise a call option to acquire Intel's remaining interest in IM Flash. Micron expected to pay about $1.5 billion in cash and to address approximately $1 billion in IM Flash member debt reported as of August 30, 2018. The acquisition closed on October 31, 2019. After closing, the entity was legally known as Micron Technology Utah, LLC, ending the original Intel-Micron joint-venture structure. The Lehi facility later changed ownership again. On October 22, 2021, Texas Instruments agreed to purchase the fab for $900 million. This later transaction concerned the physical manufacturing site and followed the legal absorption of IM Flash into Micron. Consequently, IM Flash Technologies no longer operated as an independent company, and its name is principally relevant to the history of Intel-Micron memory manufacturing, NAND process scaling, and the early production of 3D XPoint.
- 2021
Lehi fab is sold to Texas Instruments
[1]Texas Instruments purchases the Lehi fabrication facility for $900 million.
- 2019
Micron acquires Intel's remaining interest
[1]Micron closes the acquisition of Intel's stake, after which the entity is legally known as Micron Technology Utah, LLC.
- 2018
Intel and Micron separate future 3D XPoint development
[1]The partners announce that joint 3D XPoint development will end after the second generation, with later work pursued independently.
- 2011
IM Flash Singapore opens
[1]The venture opens a second 300-millimeter wafer fabrication facility in Singapore.
- 2011
Move to 20-nanometer NAND
[1]IM Flash moves to a 20-nanometer NAND process, described at the time as the smallest NAND flash process available.
- 2008
Move to 34-nanometer NAND design rules
[1]IM Flash advances NAND flash manufacturing to 34-nanometer design rules.
- 2006
IM Flash Technologies is founded
[1]Intel Corporation and Micron Technology establish IM Flash Technologies as a joint semiconductor development and manufacturing venture.
Products and positioning
A behind-the-scenes semiconductor technology and manufacturing platform focused on advanced nonvolatile memory, process scaling, and high-volume wafer fabrication for Intel and Micron.
Nonvolatile memory · 2008
NAND flash memory
IM Flash developed and manufactured NAND flash memory for the Intel and Micron businesses. Its historical importance lies especially in process scaling: the venture progressed through 34-nanometer, 25-nanometer, and 20-nanometer technologies, using advanced lithography and patterning methods to increase memory density and manufacturing efficiency.
Nonvolatile memory
3D XPoint memory
3D XPoint was a jointly developed Intel-Micron memory technology intended to provide persistent storage with substantially different performance and endurance characteristics from conventional NAND. IM Flash's Lehi operation manufactured 3D XPoint memory for data-center and high-end computing applications while Intel and Micron remained development partners.
Brand decisions
2021
Sale of the Lehi fabrication facility to Texas InstrumentsM&ABackground
After Micron had absorbed the former joint venture, the Lehi manufacturing site underwent a further ownership transition.
Action taken
Texas Instruments purchased the Lehi fab for $900 million.
Aftermath
The transaction transferred the physical facility to Texas Instruments and further separated the site's later identity from the former IM Flash organization.
Purchase price. (October 22, 2021)
2019
Micron completes acquisition of Intel's interestM&ABackground
Micron's planned acquisition followed the companies' decision to separate future 3D XPoint development.
Action taken
Micron acquired all of Intel's stake in IM Flash Technologies on October 31, 2019.
Aftermath
IM Flash Technologies was legally renamed Micron Technology Utah, LLC and ceased to exist as the original joint venture.
2018
End joint development of 3D XPoint after the second generationStrategyBackground
Intel and Micron had jointly developed 3D XPoint through their broader memory relationship and used IM Flash facilities for manufacturing. The companies decided that their product and business priorities would diverge after the second generation.
Action taken
They agreed to complete second-generation development jointly, then pursue subsequent 3D XPoint development independently while continuing manufacturing at Lehi.
Aftermath
The decision reduced the scope of the Intel-Micron technology partnership and preceded Micron's acquisition of Intel's remaining interest in IM Flash.
2018
Micron exercises its call option for Intel's IM Flash stakeM&ABackground
Micron announced that it intended to acquire Intel's remaining interest in the joint venture under a contractual call option.
Action taken
Micron initiated the call process, expecting to pay approximately $1.5 billion in cash and resolve approximately $1 billion in IM Flash member debt reported as of August 30, 2018.
Aftermath
The transaction closed on October 31, 2019, and the entity became Micron Technology Utah, LLC.
Expected cash consideration and reported member debt. (Announcement in October 2018; debt figure as of August 30, 2018)
Sources1 sources
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