Western Digital Unveils Next-Generation AI Storage Solutions at Flash Memory Summit 2024

• Data storage firm Western Digital unveiled its next-generation AI storage solutions at a recent event
• The Memory Summit 2024 provided the company with the opportunity to introduce its latest innovations to the public
• An address by the Executive VP and General Manager of Western Digital’s Flash Business highlighted the importance of the solutions

Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.

Western Digital, a prominent leader in flash and hard disk drive (HDD) data storage, made a significant impact at this year’s Flash Memory Summit (FMS) 2024 by introducing innovative storage solutions designed to meet the growing demands of artificial intelligence (AI) workloads. 

The company’s latest advancements, which catered to sectors ranging from hyperscale cloud to automotive and consumer electronics, promised to redefine performance, capacity, and efficiency for AI-driven data cycles.

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The importance of solid storage devices

A highlight of the event was the keynote address delivered by Rob Soderbery, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Western Digital’s Flash Business Unit. Held on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, the event, Soderbery’s keynote explored the strategic advancements shaping the future of NAND, AI, and data storage, emphasising their impact from data centres to edge computing.

"As AI technologies continue to evolve and become more pervasive, the demand for storage solutions will only intensify," said Soderbery. "Western Digital’s product and technology roadmaps are strategically aligned to ensure our customers have the most advanced, reliable solutions to stay ahead in the rapidly changing AI landscape. We were excited to showcase our full range of products and demonstrate how they can transform AI now and into the future," He said.

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Driving AI innovation across multiple sectors

Western Digital’s presence at FMS 2024 underscored its commitment to addressing the challenges posed by the rapid rise of AI, machine learning (ML), and large language models (LLMs). As data generation and consumption skyrocketed, organisations faced increasing pressure to extract value from this data swiftly. The company’s comprehensive storage portfolio was designed to support every stage of the evolving AI data cycle, with several critical innovations on display.

In the data centre segment, Western Digital showcased its leading products, including a PCIe® Gen5 enterprise-class SSD (SSD) optimised for compute-intensive applications, a new 64TB eSSD for storage-intensive needs, and the world’s first 32TB ePMR SMR HDD designed for massive data storage at scale. The company also demonstrated its BiCS8 128TB high-capacity QLC eSSD for AI data lakes and capacity-intensive performance applications.

Additionally, a new RapidFlex™ Interposer for NVMe-oF™ solutions was featured. This device converts PCIe SSD signals to Ethernet, enabling efficient AI workflows.

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Western Digital demonstrated BiCS8 performance for client computing and mainstream PCIe Gen5 NVMe™ SSDs, designed to power AI-driven PCs, gaming rigs, workstations, laptops, and mobile client devices.

Innovations by Western Digital

Western Digital introduced the AT EN610, an automotive-grade storage solution tailored for the automotive sector's next-generation, high-performance, centralised computing (HPCC) architectures. 

It offered flexibility with high-capacity TLC and high-endurance SLC configurations and was available in an M.2 Type 1620 BGA form. Additionally, the company previewed the Western Digital iNAND® AT EU752, a cutting-edge automotive-grade storage solution designed for advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving systems, which is set to begin sampling in Q1 2025.

Western Digital also unveiled breakthrough consumer products, including the world’s first SanDisk® 4TB microSDUC™ UHS-I card and 8TB SDUC™ UHS-I card. These products, along with a 16TB portable SSD proof of concept and the 16TB SanDisk® Desk Drive, were designed to meet the high-capacity and high-performance storage needs of consumers who rely on their devices for rich and engaging content.

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Western Digital’s innovations at FMS 2024 highlighted the company’s leadership in addressing the ever-growing demands of AI and data storage, from the data centre to consumer devices, setting the stage for the next generation of AI-driven technologies.

Western Digital expands portfolio with 8TB drive

Legit.ng earlier reported that Western Digital Corporation, a US drive manufacturer and data storage firm, has expanded its portfolio with the new eight terabytes SanDisk desk drive.

This contrasts the increasing demand for robust storage solutions capable of handling the burgeoning production of digital content.

The company’s highest capacity is on an external desktop Solid State Drive (SSD).

Source: Legit.ng