Western Digital (WDC) has unveiled a major transformation in its storage strategy at Innovation Day 2026, positioning itself as a foundational partner in the AI-driven data economy. The company introduced a new customer-centric roadmap designed to meet the escalating demands of artificial intelligence with breakthrough advancements in capacity, performance, power efficiency, and intelligent platform integration. At the heart of the announcement is a bold push toward higher storage capacity. Western Digital confirmed that its 40TB UltraSMR ePMR hard drives are in qualification with two hyperscale customers, with volume production expected in the second half of 2026. Simultaneously, HAMR (Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording) HDD development is underway with two other major customers, with ramp production targeted for 2027. The company plans to scale ePMR to 60TB by leveraging HAMR innovations without increasing power consumption, while HAMR drives are expected to reach 100TB by 2029. This dual-path strategy—using both ePMR and HAMR on a shared architecture—enables greater manufacturing efficiency, higher yields, and smoother transitions for customers, eliminating forced technology shifts and infrastructure disruptions. To address AI workloads that demand high performance, WD introduced two industry-first innovations. High Bandwidth Drive Technology is already in customer hands, while Dual Pivot Technology—designed to improve mechanical stability and data transfer speeds—is in development and expected to launch in 2028. Together, these advancements are projected to increase sequential I/O performance by four times, enabling 100TB HDDs to maintain current levels of I/O per terabyte. This closes the performance gap between HDDs and QLC SSDs, offering a cost-effective alternative for AI storage without the high cost and limited endurance of flash. Power-optimized HDDs were also unveiled to bridge the gap between warm and cold data tiers. These drives reduce energy consumption significantly while maintaining sub-second access times—ideal for AI-generated cold data that still requires fast retrieval. Built on the standard 3.5-inch form factor, they offer higher capacity and lower operating costs, making them a sustainable solution for large-scale AI data storage. WD also expanded its Platforms business to bring hyperscale storage economics to mid-sized enterprises. An intelligent software layer with an open API, expected to launch in 2027, will streamline deployment across UltraSMR, ePMR, HAMR, and flash platforms. This reduces qualification risk, accelerates time-to-value, and enables broader adoption of AI-scale storage without requiring major architectural overhauls. The company’s transformation is reflected in its updated branding, which highlights its role in powering the data center era. This shift follows a year of strategic realignment—strengthening long-term customer commitments, achieving operational excellence that more than doubled gross profit, and refreshing leadership to accelerate decision-making. These efforts contributed to WD’s inclusion in the Nasdaq 100 and top performance among S&P 500 companies in 2025. “WD is reimagining the hard drive for the AI era,” said CEO Irving Tan. “Our innovations reflect a deep commitment to solving what matters most: scalable, reliable, and cost-effective storage at the scale AI demands.” The company also shared a new financial model for the next three to five years, available at investor.wdc.com, underscoring its long-term vision. Industry analysts praised the move. IDC’s Ed Burns noted that WD is addressing real-world challenges in AI infrastructure—capacity, performance, and economics—making it a trusted partner for the future of data storage. For more information, visit investor.wdc.com.