4DS Memory Ltd (ASX: 4DS) shares have been crashing down to Earth with a thud after returning from a trading halt.
At one stage this morning, the ASX share was down as much as 70% to a lowly 1.9 cents.
This brutal selloff comes after the release of a company update that revealed disappointing early results from its highly-anticipated Sixth Platform Lot — a key step in the development of its next-generation memory technology.
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What is 4DS Memory?
4DS Memory is a semiconductor technology company trying (but failing) to develop cutting-edge Interface Switching ReRAM. It is a type of non-volatile memory that promises high speed, low power, and high endurance.
Its goal is to bring this advanced memory to market through partnerships with leading industry players like imec, Infineon Technologies, and Western Digital.
Today's update, however, shows that the journey is far from smooth.
What did the ASX share announce?
In the first half of 2025, 4DS completed the manufacturing of its Sixth Platform Lot — a new batch of memory wafers designed to demonstrate its 20-nanometre memory cells.
This build was supposed to incorporate key learnings and optimisations from the previous Fifth Platform Lot. That batch had focused on refining the memory cell construction process and ironing out any issues ahead of the 20nm scale.
But according to today's release, the electrical testing and characterisation of the Sixth Platform Lot have so far yielded disappointing results. It said:
[T]he initial analysis of the wafers within the entire Lot indicates that the necessary process modifications and optimizations introduced into the Sixth Platform Lot have not yielded the expected electrical testing and characterization results the Company was expecting.
What does this mean?
The testing isn't finished yet — there's more analysis to be done. But the early indicators suggest that the wafers may not function as intended.
If that remains the case after full testing is completed, it will likely delay the development pathway of the ASX share's core ReRAM technology. That means more time, more testing, and potentially more money before 4DS can hope to reach a commercial product.
What's next?
The ASX share is now working on a root cause analysis with partners imec and Infineon to determine what went wrong.
The company's executive chairman, David McAuliffe, said:
The initial analysis of the Sixth Platform Lot will now be shared and discussed with imec and Infineon Technologies Inc. The Company intends to create updated development plans and timelines following these discussions and the completion of the extensive electrical testing and characterization of the Sixth Platform Lot.
Despite the setback, the ASX share says it still has approximately $10 million in available funds, which makes it "well funded."
