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Micron (MU) Unveils Quad-Port SSD for Autonomous Vehicles

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Micron Technology, Inc. (MU - Free Report) has launched the Micron 4150AT SSD (solid-state drive), a pioneering automotive-grade storage solution designed to revolutionize data management in intelligent vehicles. Boasting the world's first quad-port capability, the 4150AT SSD is engineered to meet the evolving demands of next-generation automotive architectures, offering unparalleled flexibility and performance to support a wide array of advanced applications.

"As vehicles continue to evolve into intelligent, connected platforms, the need for high-performance storage solutions capable of accommodating complex AI algorithms and diverse systems is becoming increasingly critical," stated Michael Basca, Vice President of Embedded Products and Systems at Micron. "With the Micron 4150AT SSD, we are introducing a revolutionary approach to automotive storage, providing unmatched flexibility and processing power to drive the next wave of automotive innovation."

The Micron 4150AT SSD is designed to address the challenges associated with storing and processing vast amounts of data generated by intelligent vehicles, including advanced driver-assistance systems, in-vehicle infotainment and AI-driven cabin experiences. Leveraging enterprise-class speeds, the 4150AT SSD delivers exceptional random read and write speeds, enabling efficient management of data streams from multiple systems-on-chips (SoCs) simultaneously.

Micron is currently sampling the 4150AT SSD to automotive customers worldwide, with capacities of up to 1.8 terabytes. The company revealed that the SSD is being showcased at Embedded World in Nuremberg, Germany, from Apr 9 to Apr 11, offering a glimpse into the future of automotive storage solutions.

Key Features of Micron 4150AT SSD

The 4150AT SSD is the first SSD across any end market to offer four ports, providing unmatched flexibility for automotive OEMs and system integrators. By connecting up to four SoCs, the SSD creates a centralized storage solution, reducing redundancy and optimizing performance. This innovative approach streamlines architecture and minimizes the need for additional storage devices, resulting in enhanced efficiency and cost savings.

The storage solution is equipped with single-root input/output virtualization capability, which offers high performance for heavy multi-host workloads, supporting up to 64 virtual machines (VMs). This unique virtualization technology ensures each SoC and its associated VMs have access to an isolated storage region while sharing a common pool of storage, maximizing efficiency and security.

With its advanced virtualization capabilities, the 4150AT SSD enhances data security by isolating the data of each VM from others, mitigating the risk of data breaches and unauthorized access. This robust security framework ensures critical data privacy and integrity, safeguarding against potential cyber threats and hacking attempts.

The 4150AT SSD is equipped with triple-level cell NAND flash memory, offering high endurance and reliability. Additionally, the SSD can be configured to support single-level cell and high-endurance (HE-SLC) data endurance groups, providing tailored solutions to meet diverse data requirements. This flexibility allows automotive OEMs to optimize storage performance and durability based on specific application needs.

Micron Benefits From Expanding Product Portfolio

Micron continues to expand its product offerings for gaming and content industries with recent launches, including Crucial DDR5 Pro Memory Overclocking Edition modules, Crucial T705 SSD, Gen5 Consumer NVMe SSD and Plug-and-Play High-Performance DRAM. In July 2023, it introduced Crucial X9 Pro and X10 Pro Portable SSDs, followed by Crucial T500 SSD in October 2023, featuring PCIe 4.0 NVMe and Micron's advanced 232-layer 3D NAND technology.

Additionally, Micron boasts an extensive array of products tailored for PCs, servers and the smartphone sector, encompassing both DRAM and NAND offerings. DRAM chips serve as pivotal elements in PCs and servers, whereas NAND flash chips play a critical role in smartphones and SSDs. MU's presence in the SSD storage market is steadily broadening.

Management foresees accelerated 5G adoption, the rise of foldable smartphones and forthcoming advancements in AR/VR contributing to continued content growth and bolstering smartphone sales throughout the year. Micron's SSD-based offerings are capitalizing on the trend of thinner laptops and tablets, which has cultivated favorable market conditions for SSDs. This is positioning the company favorably in the market.

Zacks Rank & Other Stocks to Consider

Micron currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The MU stock has risen 43.6% in the year-to-date (YTD) period.

Some other top-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector are BILL Holdings, Inc. (BILL - Free Report) , Meta Platforms (META - Free Report) and Twilio (TWLO - Free Report) . BILL Holdings currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Meta and Twilio each carry a Zacks Rank #2 at present. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BILL Holdings’ fiscal 2024 earnings has been revised upward by 2 cents to $2.23 per share in the past 30 days, which calls for an increase of 35.2% on a year-over-year basis. The long-term expected earnings growth rate for the stock is pegged at 23.6%. BILL shares have plunged 18.6% YTD.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Meta Platforms’ 2024 earnings has been revised 7 cents upward to $20.01 per share in the past seven days, which suggests year-over-year growth of 34.6%. The long-term estimated earnings growth rate for the stock stands at 19.5%. The META stock has soared 46.1% YTD.

The consensus mark for Twilio’s 2024 earnings has been revised upward by 27 cents to $2.64 per share over the past 60 days, which indicates a 7.8% increase from 2023. It has a long-term earnings growth expectation of 19.6%. The TWLO stock has declined 18.8% in the YTD period.

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