Everspin takes $29 million to develop next generation MRAM chips

Everspin Technologies is on a mission to replace dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips and Flash memory chips by combining the features of both in a single chip.

The result of the marriage is the Magnetic Random Access Memory (MRAM) chip, which performs the same functions as permanent Flash memory chips but also has the responsive speed of DRAM.

Everspin now announces that it has closed a fresh $29 million funding round, led by a couple of new investors — Global Foundries and Western Digital Capital. Existing Everspin investors New Venture Partners, Lux Capital, Sigma Partners, Epic Ventures, and Draper Fisher Jurvetson also joined in the round.

In October, Chandler, Ariz.-based Everspin said it was working with Santa Clara, Calif.-based Global Foundries to develop the 300-millimeter CMOS silicon wafers for its latest MRAM.

Global Foundries has also put some money behind the research and development of advanced “spin torque” MRAM (ST-MRAM) processing equipment that will be used in the creation of Everspin’s latest memory product. The ST-MRAM chips use the spin, or the directional facing of a magnet, to store data in digital form.

MRAM, it turns out, can be used in all sorts of things, like computers, industrial equipment, and Near Field Communication (NFC) technologies.

Using MRAM in enterprise data centers reduces system downtime and simplifies system design, lowering overall costs. MRAM also eliminates the need for external components such as resistors, capacitors, batteries, and super-capacitors. That, in turn, improves reliability and cuts system costs.

Everspin’s most notable competitor is Silicon Valley-based Crocus, another MRAM chip company, which is developing a multi-bit per-cell architecture for its Magnetic Logic Unit (MLU) technology.

Everspin is a spin-off from Freescale Semiconductor.