Micron Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) stock rose nearly 2% in Friday's premarket session as investors weighed another sign of strong AI-driven memory demand. The move came as broader market sentiment remained steady, with Nasdaq futures up 0.14% and S&P 500 futures gaining 0.04%. The latest industry signals come as Micron positions itself for the next phase of AI growth.
The memory chipmaker is investing $250 million in emerging AI companies, giving it an early look at technologies that could shape future demand for memory and storage. Micron launched the $250 million Micron Ventures Paradigm Fund, its third and largest venture fund. The fund will invest in companies developing AI models, computing infrastructure, enterprise applications and robotics.
The strategy goes beyond financial investment. By working with emerging technology companies, Micron can gain earlier insight into how AI workloads are evolving. That could help the company anticipate the memory and storage requirements of future AI systems.
Micron expects increasingly capable AI models to require faster and more efficient memory and storage. The new fund brings Micron Ventures' total capital commitment to $550 million, following earlier funds launched in 2019 and 2022. The investment comes as major technology companies are already placing greater emphasis on securing memory supply.
Micron could benefit from continued tight memory supply as Lenovo Group Ltd. (OTC:LNVGY) sees strong AI demand supporting the market for years. Lenovo CFO Winston Cheng told CNBC memory demand remains high relative to supply, making availability more important than pricing. The company plans to deepen relationships with key suppliers while gradually evaluating newer manufacturers such as China's CXMT.
However, Lenovo said it is not seeing "material differences" in pricing. Lenovo also plans to remain "non-speculative," matching purchases with end demand rather than stockpiling memory. It said long-term supply agreements are more common among hyperscalers seeking chips for large AI infrastructure projects.
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