Intel agrees to sell memory unit for $9 bln

Intel has agreed to sell off a chunk of its business for about $9 billion dollars, handing the unit that makes flash memory used in devices like thumb drives over to South Korean chipmaker SK Hynix.

Intel is better known for making processors, the 'brain' of a computer.

Selling off a memory unit is Intel's latest move to leave behind its non-core businesses.

And the deal will make SK Hynix the second-largest flash memory maker in the world after Samsung.

They're gaining Intel's businesses in solid-state drives, NAND component and wafers, as well as its factory in Dalian, China.

SK Hynix's gain comes on the heels of a boost in the memory industry, growing in the months from April to June as millions worked from home.

Intel said it intended to invest the proceeds of the transaction to deliver leadership products and advance its artificial intelligence and 5G networking.