Micron Plans $10 Billion US Memory Research Hub Investment

Micron announced Micron Research Labs, a US-based long-horizon research institution in Boise, Idaho. It is backed by a planned $10 billion investment over the next decade to advance memory and compute breakthroughs for the AI era.

The company stated the hub would bring together customers, academia, government, start-ups and the broader semiconductor ecosystem to pursue advances beyond current technology roadmaps. Key research areas include critical memory technologies, advanced memory and compute architectures, packaging and future semiconductor manufacturing. Micron described the initiative as the first dedicated memory research hub of its kind in the US.

Chair, president, and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said that the country’s AI future would be built on domestic memory. The facility is to connect with Micron’s existing research and technology footprint across the US, Europe, Japan, India, Singapore, and Taiwan. Micron stated that the laboratory would connect researchers with external experts and partners to accelerate the path from scientific discovery to real-world application, drawing on its 62,000 lifetime patents.

Scott DeBoer, EVP and chief technology and products officer, said the company has pushed the boundaries of memory technology since its founding nearly 50 years ago. “For nearly 50 years, from four people in a Boise basement to America’s memory leader, Micron has pushed the boundaries of what memory can do,” said DeBoer. “Micron Research Labs gives that legacy a dedicated home for long-horizon innovation, the kind of research that sits upstream of every product we build.”

Micron anticipates breaking ground on a state-of-the-art research facility capable of hosting hundreds of staff in 2027. The facility is expected to convene world-class research conferences, workshops and innovation forums. The investment builds on Micron’s broader plan to invest more than $250 billion in US manufacturing and R&D, which is expected to create more than 90,000 jobs.