Marvell unveils second-generation Structera X memory expanders for AI inference

Marvell Technology (NASDAQ: MRVL) has a new answer to one of AI’s least glamorous problems: running out of memory. On October 12, 2026, the company unveiled its second-generation Structera X CXL memory expanders, the models 3406 and 3506. Marvell says they are the first devices in the industry to offer six memory channels for CXL 3.2. AI models keep getting hungrier for memory, so a bigger plate seems like a reasonable thing to build. What Marvell actually announced The headline upgrade is the channel count. The previous generation used a four-channel design, and the new parts move to six, a 50% increase in channels. Capacity is where the numbers get large. Each controller supports up to 9 TB of DDR4 memory or up to 6 TB of DDR5. The devices support four-host connectivity over PCIe 6.0 x16 links, with maximum bandwidth of 256 GB/s. Up to four separate host systems can tap the same pool of expanded memory. The new Structera X parts include inline LZ4 compression, which Marvell says boosts usable memory capacity by 2 to 3 times. The devices are expected to enter sampling by Q1 2027. Before that, Marvell plans live demonstrations at the OCP Global Summit, running from October 12 to Oc...