IBM Set to Ship Products Using Powerful New Chip

International Business Machines, apparently taking a clear lead over its Japanese competitors in the memory chip race, plans to begin shipments shortly of products equipped with a powerful new generation of semiconductors.

The chips can handle 4 million bits of information, four times as much as any existing chip in commercial use. IBM expects to begin shipping products with the 4-megabit chips in a month or shortly thereafter, said company President Jack D. Kuehler in an interview with The Times.

The disclosure comes one day after IBM and six other major U.S. technology companies unveiled plans to establish an unprecedented $1-billion joint venture to manufacture 4-megabit chips. The move is regarded as an effort to catch up with Japanese competitors in the production of increasingly powerful semiconductors.

Even if IBM is the leader in the memory chip race, the joint venture--U.S. Memories Inc.--could still play a crucial role as a major supplier of 4-megabit chips to U.S. industry and, eventually, of other types of chips.

Memory chips are the heart of all sorts of electronics goods, including appliances, cars and computers.