July 6 (Reuters) – Micron Technology and Ford Motor on Monday signed a long-term agreement to secure the supply for memory and storage platforms used in the automaker’s next-generation vehicle production.
This comes days after Micron’s similar agreement with General Motors, as part of the chipmaker’s ongoing investments to expand manufacturing in the United States for automotive customers, including its expansion of advanced DRAM production in Virginia.
• DRAM, or dynamic random-access memory, is a critical component for servers that power cloud computing, databases and AI workloads.
• DRAM prices have risen about 70% since December, according to a S&P Global Mobility report, amid high demand for memory chips owing to surging investments towards AI-powered data centers.
• Memory chips have also become a crucial part of vehicle production with advanced driver aid systems and power-hungry infotainment systems, adding automakers to the competition for tightening supply for these chips.
• “As vehicles become more intelligent and data-intensive, the importance of advanced memory and storage continues to grow, making collaboration and long-term supply increasingly important,” said Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO of Micron Technology.
• Micron’s supply agreements with Ford and GM are among the 16 outlined by the chipmaker during its third quarter.
(Reporting by Aatreyee Dasgupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Joyjeet Das)
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