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AI boom pushes HDD makers toward 100TB drives
AI data centers are reviving HDD demand, with suppliers expanding capacity and drive makers targeting 100TB models by 2029.
Image: ITzine
The AI boom is bringing hard disk drives (HDDs) back to the center of data-center planning. TDK is increasing production of magnetic heads and suspensions, Resonac is sharply expanding its output of magnetic platters, and drive makers are accelerating development of models with capacities of up to 100TB.
The shift is less surprising in AI infrastructure than in the PC market, where HDDs have long been displaced by SSDs. Data centers still need low-cost storage for enormous datasets and backups, where price per terabyte matters more than speed. The current demand is therefore concentrated on enterprise nearline HDDs, not ordinary consumer drives.
Industry sources say manufacturers across the supply chain are expanding capacity. The companies involved include TDK, JX Advanced Metals, Resonac, Nitto Denko, and HOYA. TrendForce expects enterprise nearline HDD shipments to grow by an average of 23% annually from 2025 to 2030—a notable pace for a technology many had considered obsolete.
HDD makers target 40TB to 100TB drives
The largest storage manufacturers are already preparing the next generation of high-capacity models:
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- Western Digital is testing drives of about 40TB, plans to begin mass production in the second half of the year, and aims to reach 100TB by 2029.
- Seagate is already shipping drives of up to 44TB to cloud providers using HAMR. It plans to raise recording density to 10TB per platter, opening a path to 100TB drives.
- Toshiba is pursuing MAMR and recently demonstrated 30TB–34TB HDDs with 12 magnetic platters, a first for the industry. It plans 40TB models in 2027, followed by drives of 55TB and above.
The race is not only about headline capacity. The companies are also working toward production technologies that data centers can deploy at scale, without exotic designs or manual assembly.
HDD component suppliers expand capacity
Demand is already affecting component makers. TDK is expanding output of magnetic heads and suspensions for next-generation HDDs, while Resonac plans to increase annual magnetic-platter production from 160 million to 210 million units.
HOYA is investing about 50 billion yen in a new HDD glass-substrate plant in Vietnam. JX Advanced Metals and Nitto Denko are also increasing production of materials for magnetic coatings and flexible printed circuit boards.
For cloud companies, the division is straightforward: SSDs remain faster and better suited to computation, while HDDs offer lower-cost storage for growing data collections. As AI services add training, search, and generative workloads, they must retain more information for longer periods—turning 100TB HDDs from a laboratory ambition into a practical target for the coming years.
Enterprise Editor
Marcus follows the money. He covers enterprise software, cloud architecture, and the tectonic shifts in Big Tech strategy. He translates dense earnings calls and complex M&A activity into actionable insights about where the industry is actually heading. If a tech giant makes a silent pivot, Marcus is usually the first to notice.
via ITzine
