Montage Technology Co. introduced a new Compute Express Link (CXL) 3.1 memory expander controller on Tuesday, targeting performance bottlenecks in data centers as workloads from artificial intelligence and cloud computing continue to grow.
The controller, called the M88MX6852, supports both CXL.mem and CXL.io protocols and complies with the CXL 3.1 Type 3 specification. It is built on a PCIe 6.2 interface and provides transfer rates of up to 64 gigatransfers per second across eight lanes, according to a company statement.
The chip features a dual-channel DDR5 controller operating at speeds of up to 8,000 MT/s, designed to increase bandwidth between server processors and attached memory modules. The product is aimed at enabling memory expansion and pooling in enterprise and cloud infrastructure, reducing the need for additional physical servers.
Montage said the device is already being sampled by major customers. It is available in a 25mm x 25mm package and supports industry-standard EDSFF (E3.S) and PCIe add-in card formats, making it suitable for servers, all-flash storage systems and edge computing platforms.
The company added that the product integrates two RISC-V processors for system management and security. These are used for real-time configuration of DDR and CXL resources, event handling, and cryptographic operations. Standard interfaces including SMBus/I3C, SPI and JTAG are supported.
While CXL adoption remains in the early stages, the interconnect technology is being developed as a way to improve utilization of memory resources in data centers. By allowing memory to be pooled and dynamically allocated across servers, operators could lower costs and power consumption as demand for AI computing grows.
Montage, founded in 2004 and listed in Shanghai, supplies chips for memory interface, interconnect and timing solutions. The company said it is providing a reference design kit alongside the new controller to assist customers in evaluating and integrating the technology.
Industry partners including Samsung Electronics Co. and SK hynix Inc. have expressed support for Montage’s latest product. Executives at both memory makers said the chip aligns with their efforts to build out CXL-based memory expansion systems for AI workloads.
Officials at Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Intel Corp. also welcomed the launch, saying the controller contributes to the development of heterogeneous computing systems and scalable memory architectures. Both US chipmakers are incorporating CXL technology into their server processor roadmaps.
The release of the new controller comes as semiconductor companies seek to strengthen their positions in the data center market, which has seen record investment in servers and accelerators designed for AI training and inference. Memory capacity and bandwidth remain among the key bottlenecks in scaling those systems.
Montage did not disclose pricing or a timeline for broader commercial availability.
