SK Hynix develops high-capacity SSD for AI data center

SK Hynix Inc. unveiled on Wednesday its high-capacity solid-state drive (SSD) product PS1012 U.2, designed for AI data centers with 61 terabyte (TB) capacities. 

With the fifth generation peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe), PS1012 U.2 doubles its bandwidth compared to 4th generation based products. 

The data transfer speed reaches 32 giga-transfers per second, with the sequential read performance of 13 gigabytes per second, which is twice that of previous generation products.

In addition, the company developed this product to support the open compute project (OCP) 2.0 version, enhancing its compatibility with various data center server devices of global AI customers.

SK Hynix will supply the sample of PS1012 U.2 to global server manufacturers this year for product evaluation, and it plans to expand its product line to 122 TB in the third quarter of next year. 

SK Hynix has been leading the SSD market for AI data centers with Solidigm, a subsidiary commercializing quadruple level cell (QLC)-based enterprise SSDs (eSSD). The company expects to build a balanced SSD portfolio, thereby maximizing synergy between the two companies.

The South Korean chipmaker aims to lead the SSD market for ultra-high capacity data centers by developing 244 TB products based on the world’s highest 321-high 4D NAND developed in November, to overcome the capacity limitations of eSSD.

Write to Chae-Yeon Kim at why29@hankyung.com