Western Digital Unveils AI-Ready Hard Drive Innovations at 2026 Innovation Day

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Western Digital introduces new HDD technologies for AI workloads, including 40TB UltraSMR, HAMR to 100TB, and high-bandwidth drives with up to 4x performance.

Quick Report

At its 2026 Innovation Day, Western Digital revealed a new roadmap for hard drive technology, targeting the AI-driven data economy. The company announced a 40TB UltraSMR ePMR HDD in qualification, with HAMR drives scaling to 100TB by 2029. High Bandwidth Drive and Dual Pivot technologies promise up to 4x sequential IO, closing the gap with QLC flash.

WD's dual-path approach lets customers adopt ePMR or HAMR on their own timelines, with both built on a common architecture for easier scaling. Power-optimized HDDs for cold AI data and an intelligent platform API for hyperscale-like efficiency are also in the works. These innovations aim to deliver reliable, high-capacity, and cost-effective storage for AI and enterprise needs.

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Source(s)

  • TechPowerUp