Marvell unveils second-gen CXL 3.2 memory expanders for AI

Marvell Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRVL) announced its second-generation Structera X 3406 and 3506 CXL 3.2 memory expanders, which the company claims are the first to feature six DDR4/DDR5 memory channels, representing a 50% increase over the prior generation.

The new controllers support PCIe Gen 6 connectivity and are designed for AI inference workloads. The Structera X 3406 supports up to 18 DDR4 RDIMM slots with a maximum of 9TB of capacity, while the Structera X 3506 supports up to 12 DDR5 RDIMM slots with a maximum of 6TB. Both models offer connectivity to up to four hosts simultaneously, with up to 256GB/s of PCIe 6.0 x16 host bandwidth.

Marvell says inline LZ4 compression delivers up to 250GB/s throughput, enabling what the company describes as 2–3x more effective memory capacity depending on workload. For large language model serving, Marvell claims the controllers can deliver 40–50% faster time to first token at equivalent context length compared to the previous generation.

The controllers also include post-quantum cryptography, Caliptra 2.0, CXL IDE, and AES-256 memory encryption. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix have confirmed memory validation work with the platform, and AMD and Arm have noted ecosystem collaboration.

The Structera X 3406 and 3506 are being demonstrated at the OCP Global Summit in San Jose, California, running Oct. 12–15, 2026. Both products are expected to sample in Q1 2027. The first-generation Structera X 2404 and 2504 are already shipping to hyperscalers, according to the company.

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