July 2021

Orthogonal Spin Transfer MRAM (OST-MRAM) technology developer Spin Memory is shutting down. The company's main investor and founding company, Allied Minds, said in a statement that the main reasons challenges in securing new customers and COVID-19 which "significantly delayed the required testing of its development chip with ARM".

This is a sad ending to Spin Memory, which began its way as Spin Transfer Technologies - a spin-off from NYU that was established together with Allied Minds.

Researchers from Northwestern University developed a new method of building artificial neural networks using MRAM-based stochastic computing units. The researchers say that this design could enable AI devices that are highly energy efficient.

Embedded MRAM technologies are being adopted at major foundries, which enable the use of these technologies for unconventional computing architectures that use the stochasticity of MRAM cells (rather than their nonvolatility), to perform energy-efficient computing operations. MRAM cells exhibit stochastic switching characteristics, which is a challenge for reliable memory devices. But for neural networks, this can be taken advantage of if the MTJs are appropriately designed.