Nanochip Offers 5X the Memory of Flash Drives

A Silicon Valley company called Nanochip has a chip under development that can store over five times the amount of data as current flash drives, reports Tech Review. The Nanochip technology  stores memory by using tiny pins with microscopically sharp tips to polarize a film; it is cheaper to produce than flash memory, more long-lasting, and about the same speed. 

"It's a big challenge, but it's something I believe can be done," said a scientific adviser to Nanochip. The company recently raised $14 million in venture capital. Backers include Intel Capital, the investment arm of the giant chip maker. A similar technology pioneered by IBM in the late 1990s that used heat to store data fizzled out. (More chip stories.)