Montage Technology announced the launch of its CXL® 3.1 Memory eXpander Controller, now sampling with key customers. Designed in compliance with the CXL 3.1 Type 3 specification, the controller supports both CXL.mem and CXL.io protocols, delivering high-bandwidth, low-latency memory expansion and pooling to meet the demands of next-generation data center servers.
Powered by a PCIe® 6.2 physical layer interface, the CXL 3.1 MXC achieves transfer rates of up to 64 GT/s (x8) and supports flexible multi-rate, multi-width configurations. It can also be split into dual x4 ports. The controller features a dual-channel DDR5 memory controller running at speeds of up to 8000 MT/s, significantly improving data throughput between host CPUs and backend SDRAM or DIMM modules.
For intelligent system management, the device integrates dual RISC-V microprocessors serving as an Application Processing Unit (APU) and a Security Processing Unit (SPU). This architecture enables dynamic DDR/CXL resource configuration, real-time system event handling, and hardware-level security management. Additional interfaces SMBus/I3C, SPI, and JTAG simplify system integration and firmware updates.
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As cloud adoption accelerates, traditional memory systems face limitations in bandwidth and scalability. Montage’s MXC leverages CXL memory pooling to enable elastic memory allocation across data centers, helping organizations reduce total cost of ownership (TCO).
The chip, housed in a compact 25 mm x 25 mm package, supports both EDSFF (E3.S) and PCIe add-in card (AIC) form factors, making it well-suited for deployment in servers, all-flash arrays, and edge computing platforms.
“The launch of the CXL 3.1 MXC marks another major step forward in our continued leadership in CXL innovation,” said Stephen Tai, President at Montage Technology. “This chip not only improves the memory expansion performance and energy efficiency, but also accelerates the industry’s adoption of disaggregated memory architectures through standards-based solutions, laying a solid foundation for memory pooling and sharing in next-generation computing infrastructure.”
Currently shipping to early customers, the MXC is offered with a complete Reference Design Kit (RDK) to streamline evaluation and speed up development of CXL-enabled memory systems.
Industry Partner Feedback
Jangseok Choi, VP of Memory Product Planning at Samsung Electronics, stated: “As a key member of the CXL Consortium, Samsung is pleased to see Montage launch the MXC controller compliant with the latest CXL standards. With its high bandwidth and advanced memory pooling capabilities, the device aligns with our CMM-D solutions. We look forward to deepening our cooperation with Montage to advance the adoption of disaggregated memory in AI computing.”
Uksong Kang, Head of Next Generation Product Planning & Enabling at SK hynix, said: “As we continue to push the boundaries of what’s possible with memory technology, SK hynix is impressed by Montage’s commitment to innovation and its dedication to delivering high-quality solutions. The CXL 3.1 compliant MXC sample shipment is a testament to Montage’s expertise and leadership in the field, and we believe it will have a significant impact on the development of next-generation systems. We’re looking forward to collaborating with Montage on future projects and exploring new opportunities for growth and innovation in the CXL ecosystem.”
Raghu Nambiar, Corporate Vice President, Data Center Ecosystems and Solutions at AMD, added: “CXL Memory expansion and tiering is a foundational technology for the future of data center computing, especially in enabling heterogeneous memory architectures. Montage’s CXL 3.1 strategy aligns with our long-term vision to drive transformative improvements in total cost of ownership for data center operators, while accelerating the adoption of memory tiering and expansion for AI and cloud workloads.”
Ronak Singhal, Senior Fellow, Intel Corporation, commented: “As data center demands for low latency and high bandwidth grow, customers are turning to flexible memory architectures. Intel® Xeon® processors deliver strong performance today, and as a founding member of CXL, Intel welcomes Montage’s CXL 3.1 MXC as a meaningful step toward scalable memory architectures and an expanded CXL ecosystem.”
