The race for next generation non-volatile memory technology is already on at full throttle. Although the present landscape of memory technologies is dominated by static and dynamic RAM and flash memories, technologies like MRAM and FRAM have risen promisingly. However, none has shown potential to unleash its advantages and unseat current technologies. But, evidently, Nantero’s NRAM is 1000 times faster and more durable than flash and lower power than DRAM and proves to be the one.
A world leader in carbon nanotube electronics, Nantero has been developing a new generation of memory—NRAM® (non-volatile random-access memory) since 2001. This new super-fast, ultra-high-density memory has everything it needs to drive the next wave of electronic innovation. Based on carbon nanotubes, NRAM is expected to enable a new era of laptops, computers, consumer electronics, data centers and more. Its unique features will enable consumer and enterprise companies to deliver innovations the world has only dreamed about. This is why industry leaders such as Fujitsu and others have already selected NRAM as their next generation memory for the future.
Aimed to Redefine the World of Electronics
Today’s most exciting innovations in the digital world depend on the use of memory, whether that be the memory in a phone, tablet, laptop or other device such as IOT, AR/VR, or others. These innovations all benefit from, and in many cases, are enabled by, the availability of more memory, faster memory, and memory with new characteristics not available today. Nantero’s NRAM delivers these much-needed requirements, and thus can support many exciting new products and features in coming electronic devices. NRAM—a next-generation memory— is installed in multiple production fabs around the globe and is able to scale below 5 nanometers over time. It is currently being designed into exciting new products that will redefine the world of electronics.
A Serial Entrepreneur and Trailblazer Leading the Voyage
Greg Schmergel, Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO of Nantero has been very active in entrepreneurship for many years, and has started three new companies including Nantero. Prior to Nantero, Greg was Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy for About, Inc., which at that time was the 5th largest Web property. Previously, he was President and CEO of ExpertCentral.com, Inc., a company he founded to provide consumers and small businesses with access to thousands of experts to use as an online resource for important questions on a wide variety of topics (later acquired by About, Inc.). Before that, he worked at Bain & Company and TowerGroup, which he had helped to establish and was later acquired by Reuters.
Greg stays active in supporting the entrepreneurship and business community including being a guest speaker at entrepreneurial classes and groups, a past judge in MIT business plan competitions, a Board member on the Mass Technology Leadership Council, Venture Partner at Rubicon Venture Capital, member of the Board of Trustees of the Lahey Hospital & Medical Center and of the Lahey Clinic Foundation, and a judge in the MassChallenge entrepreneurship program. He holds an AB magna cum laude from Harvard University and an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. Greg was selected as the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award winner in New England, in the emerging technology category, 2006.
The use of carbon nanotubes is one of Nantero’s key technology advantages. “Considered one of the strongest materials known to man, carbon nanotubes are 1/50,000th the diameter of a human hair, 50 times stronger than steel, half the density of aluminum, and have better thermal and electrical conductivity properties than any other material scientists are aware of today. This makes NRAM the most durable, scalable, high-performance and feature rich new generation memory ever developed,” Greg asserts.
A Leading Pioneer in the Application of Carbon Nanotubes
Being in the industry for more than a decade, Nantero had to face many challenges and struggles, especially skepticism that carbon nanotubes (CNTs) could be used in standard production semiconductor fabs. But when Nantero’s Co-founder, and CTO, Dr. Tom Rueckes, came up with multiple innovations, it allowed Nantero-processed CNTs to be used in any semiconductor fab around the world, without requiring the use of any new equipment. Tom was able to come up with these innovations due to his background as the inventor of NRAM and the leading pioneer in the application of carbon nanotubes to the semiconductor field. Tom holds a PhD in Chemistry from Harvard University, where his work is focused on carbon nanotubes. He is the inventor or co-inventor on over 165 granted patents, with many more pending, and is widely recognized as the top expert in the field.
Pursuing a Once-in-a generation Opportunity
Nantero works closely with its partners to support them in integrating NRAM into their devices and systems, whether it is mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops, or enterprise systems such as those found in data centers. Nantero has more than a dozen world-leading partners that have exciting ideas on how to use NRAM to bring innovative new products to market.
Nantero is pursuing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring to market a mass production memory device—such an innovation is only seen once in decades. The two dominant forms of memory, DRAM and flash, were introduced decades ago. Based on the next-generation memories such as NRAM, many new innovations in electronic devices and systems that use memory can be expected. Just as flash memory enabled the smartphone, tablet and SSD, NRAM will enable a new wave of innovation.
