Context:
- In recent years, the fundamental value of Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) technology has significantly increased, as the rapid scaling and adoption of AI technologies continue to drive exponential growth in compute demand. The market is currently valued at $121.78 billion and is expected to double by 2035. DRAM enables processors to operate efficiently and now forms the backbone of modern data processing, which allows AI applications to develop and grow.
- During its annual Bridge Summit in September, Via Licensing Alliance announced plans to launch several patent licensing programs that focus on semiconductor technologies (September 25, 2025 ip fray article). In November, Via announced a formal call for patents for its first semiconductor patent pool, which will address licensing for DRAM, including several key categories of DRAM technology covered by the Joint Electron Device Engineering Council (JEDEC) standard (November 18, 2025 ip fray article).
What’s new: In a Q&A interview with ip fray, Via’s vice president of program management Willy Chang revealed that the first of its semiconductor pools has already received claim charts from several companies to formally be part of the pool formation process. Via is in the process of starting pool formation meetings, notably following a lot of support from operating companies and patentees alike in Asia. Mr. Chang also revealed that while they are focused on the memory pool, his team will soon introduce additional pools within the semiconductor space – likely focused on interconnect – that are also essential to the data center. And, while AI is a big topic at the moment, he emphasized the need to solve the more fundamental licensing issue, which addresses the IP on which AI technologies run. “That’s what our pools focus on, and that’s where we see the most pressing need,” he said.
Interview
ip fray: Where did you get the idea for the pool?
Willy Chang: Because of the unique semiconductor industry experience held by the Via team, the idea seemed hidden in plain sight to us and quickly became clear after a little consideration.
We looked at where the tech industry was growing, and where we saw future problems in the IP landscape. AI has clearly been driving tremendous growth in semiconductor companies. Looking a bit closer into what powers AI, we came to the conclusion that the data center was likely to be the epicenter of future tech growth. As we looked at data centers more closely, we uncovered a trove of standards and a massive problem emerging in the industry, if not addressed very soon.
The growth of AI has pushed companies supporting AI – more specifically, the semiconductor companies that power AI – to the forefront. When you consider the fact that the expected CAGR for AI chips through 2030 is about 30% – pretty much white hot for any industry – this represents an extremely exciting opportunity to capture some of that value.
IP litigation in this area is increasing, and it’s only a matter of time before the market fragments and this space becomes similar to what we see now in smartphones: a large number of licensors with patents covering varying, disparate technologies.
The semiconductor industry has seen a huge number of patent divestitures over the last decade. Via’s goal here is to solve the problem for the semiconductor and data center industry by creating a “pool of pools” that will address licensing issues for data centers as the demand for semiconductor chips continues to grow rapidly.
ip fray: What inspired the initial focus on memory for the new series of pools? What do you see as the unique market opportunity? And why is the pool so relevant in this present moment?
Willy Chang: DRAM is a technology that is critical for data center operation, and high-performance computing demands higher and higher quality. Moreover, particularly for AI data centers, High Bandwidth Memory is already prevalent in existing data centers. Its value proposition has greatly changed from even five years ago.
Now, the increase in demand for high-capability memory is skyrocketing, and licensors recognize this. For example, just earlier this month, there was an article highlighting the meteoric rise in ASML’s stock price over the past year, and it cited the company’s growth in the memory space as a key factor in that growth (January 5, 2026 CTOL Digital Solutions article).
We want to be on the front end of this opportunity and address these issues now while it’s timely.
ip fray: Following the call for patents in November, what is the next major milestone you anticipate for the pool?
Willy Chang: Via has been engaged in many promising and productive conversations about our memory pool in recent weeks and months. We have been pleased to see the strong interest companies are voicing across several geographies.
We already have had several companies submit claim charts to formally be part of the pool formation process. So at this time, Via is in the process of starting pool formation meetings. The companies interested have ranged from large Fortune 100 companies to notable patent holders. We continue to seek out potential licensors who can join us and hope to have the pool’s rates and other terms and conditions set within the next year, ideally with the formal launch of the pool not long after that.
ip fray: You recently traveled to Asia to discuss opportunities for collaboration around this new pool. What kind of initial response are you seeing from potential licensors and licensees around this effort?
Willy Chang: The interest is incredibly high. Notably, there has been a lot of support from several operating companies.
At this point, we’re more focused on speaking to licensors, though a number of companies that we’ve spoken to would likely end up being both licensors and licensees. We’ve also received a lot of support from companies in Asia with significant patent holdings related to semiconductors and memory, who have long been licensees in a number of spaces but who now have the opportunity to become licensors through their semiconductor portfolios.
While we are focused currently on memory, we are excited to soon introduce additional pools within the semiconductor space – likely focused on interconnect – that are also essential to the datacenter.
ip fray: What is your message to potential licensors and licensees of the memory pool?
Willy Chang: For licensees, I really encourage them to view this as an opportunity. If we don’t try to create an effective and structured solution now, in the future we will likely see unending litigation on various disparate technologies, with an ever-changing set of licensors. We’re ultimately addressing something now that would otherwise lead to greater costs, inefficiency, and significant headaches down the road.
On the other end, I encourage licensors to consider a licensing model rather than the traditional divestiture model that has been the hallmark of the semiconductor industry over the last decade. This model creates for licensors an efficient and relatively frictionless means of realizing ongoing revenue, through lawful collaboration with other patent holders, to obtain fair compensation for their innovations.
I also like to remind potential licensors that Via has a legacy of leadership in the patent licensing space and, in fact, helped to define the modern patent pool by developing extremely successful programs such as Advanced Audio Coding (AAC). We have the proven experience and expertise to launch and grow patent pools that are highly profitable to many licensors over a number of years.
ip fray: Can you share more about how your background and experience lend themselves to the effort of establishing the first-ever semiconductor pool in the patent licensing space?
Willy Chang: I wouldn’t say this was the deciding factor in our choice to form these pools by any means, but I have experience working at a Fortune 50 semiconductor company as a licensee and licensor. This combination of experience, both on the licensee and licensor side, puts us in a good position to establish a pool that can create a win-win for all parties. I’ve seen the difficulties that licensees can have in the space, and we’re going to try to address those issues ahead of time.
ip fray: Do you envision a patent pool ever forming around AI from a user endpoint perspective (for example, a patent pool for technologies centered around machine learning, neural networks, etc.)?
Willy Chang: At this point, it seems a bit unlikely, as we don’t have a good set of standards set around such technologies just yet. This is also the technology that everyone is focused on trying to license, so we see much greater competition in that space.
But before licensing programs develop on that side, I believe it’s most critical to solve the more fundamental licensing issue, which addresses the IP on which AI technologies run. That’s what our pools focus on, and that’s where we see the most pressing need.