This is getting ridiculous! Samsung is preparing a 256TB SSD just for AI servers, just weeks after showing off the 128TB model
A number of companies, including Samsung, Phison and Huawei, have teased 128TB SSDs this year. These products are inevitably not intended for consumers, but are designed to meet the growing storage needs of AI servers and data centers.
128TB is undoubtedly a huge leap forward in terms of capacity. It’s important to remember that Solidigm’s 61.44TB SSD was the largest solid state drive in the world when it went on sale in January, and no one else was offering anything close. How quickly things change.
Samsung recently unveiled its upcoming 128TB SSD, the BM1743, at its Future of Memory and Storage 2024 event (formerly Flash Memory Summit). There’s currently no word on when that model is expected to see the light of day, but Samsung wants you to know that it’s already preparing an SSD with double that capacity. Yes, really.
256TB SSD for servers
The Korean Economic Daily reports that South Korean memory rivals Samsung and SK Hynix recently took the stage at Semicon Taiwan 2024 to discuss high-bandwidth memory (HBM), with the two companies detailing efforts they will make to boost production of the sought-after chips. During a keynote speech, the first time a Samsung representative has given a talk in Taiwan, Jung-Bae Lee, corporate president and head of Samsung’s memory business, said: “To maximize the performance of AI chips, customized HBM is the best choice. We are working with other foundry players to offer more than 20 customized solutions.”
It was during this presentation, KED reports that Dr. Lee dropped his accidental bombshell, stating that “Samsung is preparing to unveil a 256 terabyte (TB) solid-state drive (SSD) for servers to meet the growing demand for high-capacity storage devices in AI servers.”
No additional information was provided, so it’s unclear when such a device might be released — it could be next year or further into the future. However, the fact that Samsung mentioned it at all suggests the company is already well along in the development process.
