This established hard drive giant is creating a "home" for massive data in China.

When we talk about large AI models, we often first think of expensive graphics cards, busy computing power centers, and ever - evolving intelligent applications.

But behind this bustling technological feast, there is an extremely crucial yet easily overlooked question: Where will the vast amount of data generated by AI ultimately be stored? Can human storage capabilities leap forward alongside AGI?

The answer may not be as futuristic as in science - fiction movies, but rather return to a more practical and classic physical medium - the hard disk drive (HDD).

Although solid - state drives (SSDs) have become popular in our personal PC era, HDDs still dominate in data centers that house the world's data assets. Especially in China, with the large - scale explosion of the cloud computing and AI industries, the demand for large - scale, low - cost, and highly reliable storage is growing exponentially.

This is not only a technological challenge regarding "capacity" but also a tough battle about "supply chain" and "manufacturing capabilities."

In this long - term endeavor, Toshiba is a very special case for observation. As one of the global giants in the hard - drive manufacturing field, Toshiba has taken a different path in the Chinese market: It has established a nearline HDD production line in mainland China and successfully achieved mass production.

This is not just a story of "selling in China" but a story of "manufacturing in China."

In this story, there is another key player - SAE. As Toshiba's long - term strategic partner, SAE has been making parallel progress. As a world - class hard - drive head supplier, it also undertakes more of the manufacturing tasks for Toshiba's hard drives in China.

This cooperation model is unique in the industry: The production of core components (hard - drive heads) and the assembly of hard - drive units are located in the same physical space. This "door - to - door" synergy enables Toshiba to quickly respond to the needs of the Chinese market, rapidly transform the latest high - capacity technologies into high - standard finished products, and deliver them to Chinese cloud service providers and enterprise customers.

Standing at the end of 2025, a pivotal time point, we not only see the huge opportunities brought by AI but also recognize the importance of supply - chain resilience and localized services.

To in - depth analyze this unique business and manufacturing model, 36Kr exclusively interviewed Fujimori Masafumi, the COO of the hard - drive product line at Toshiba Electronic Components (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., and Andy, the President of SAE.

In this interview, we tried to explore: Why are HDDs still irreplaceable in the AI era? How does Toshiba leverage the advantages of "Made in China" to serve Chinese customers? And how will this long - standing golden partnership jointly meet the data centers' demand for ultra - high - capacity storage in the future?

The following is the transcript of the interview (edited by 36Kr):

In the AI Era, Keep Moving Towards HDDs

36Kr: Amid the impact of the AI data explosion and new concepts like "computing - storage integration," how does HDD demonstrate its irreplaceability in the future? How will Toshiba consolidate this core value?

Fujimori: The progress of AI will drive the diversified development of market applications, which requires the diversity of storage media. In addition to SSDs and HDDs, tapes are also growing to meet different user needs. However, HDDs have some irreplaceable features: such as data recoverability, durability unaffected by repeated data erasure, and better cost - effectiveness when dealing with large - scale data. These features make HDDs still the mainstream storage products in big - data storage, especially in enterprise - level scenarios.

The core value of Toshiba's hard drives lies in being the cornerstone for supporting the development of big data and AI. Therefore, Toshiba will continue to conduct research and development on high - capacity technologies, maintain stable performance, and continue to reduce the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for users.

36Kr: Recently, Toshiba announced the successful verification of the 12 - platter stacking technology and planned a roadmap towards 40TB+. What was the biggest challenge the R & D team faced to achieve this major breakthrough?

Fujimori: The biggest challenge lies in the extreme compression of physical space, that is, placing more platters in the very limited space of an HDD within a fixed height. For example, within the current standard 3.5 - inch enterprise - level HDD specification - with a thickness of only 2.61 centimeters - when stacking more platters, it is necessary to maintain the firmness of the platters and the stability of the overall performance of the hard drive, such as shock and vibration resistance.

36Kr: How will the new technology generation impact the future of data centers? Additionally, data sustainable development is a global consensus. What specific measures has Toshiba taken to help customers achieve a "green data center"?

Fujimori: As we all know, operating costs are an important consideration for data centers. Our technological breakthrough means that the capacity is significantly increased while the hard - drive volume remains the same, thus reducing the weight and energy consumption per unit of storage. This is very important for reducing the TCO of data - center storage devices. This evolution of "more capacity without more consumption" is crucial for helping data centers reduce TCO and achieve the goal of a "green data center."

In addition, for hard - drive suppliers, another important mission is to work with partners to ensure data security. Toshiba has been actively participating in the Open Compute Project (OCP) and developing hard - drive products that meet OCP standards. In the future, it will continue to cooperate with partners to establish a hard - drive recycling mechanism on the basis of established data security. It is believed that these measures will contribute to achieving a green data center and improving the energy efficiency of hard drives.

36Kr: Regarding Chinese customers, according to your observation, what are the similarities and differences in the storage requirements of Chinese AI and cloud - computing customers compared with the global market?

Fujimori: Compared with global, especially North American, AI and data - center customers, Chinese customers share a common point: they tend to migrate to high - capacity HDDs. For example, the migration speed to a capacity of at least 20TB+ is faster than in other application fields. The difference is that global AI and cloud - computing customers are more active in the New Product Introduction (NPI) testing of ultra - high - capacity hard drives and are more sensitive to costs. Therefore, due to cost reasons, Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR) HDDs are more popular in overseas markets. Chinese customers value performance stability more, so Conventional Magnetic Recording (CMR) HDDs are still the mainstream choice in the domestic market.

Fujimori Masafumi, COO of the hard - drive product line at Toshiba Electronic Components (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.

Manufacturing Evolution: Localized Synergy with "Chinese Speed"

36Kr: SAE is Toshiba's long - term strategic partner. What is the most unique advantage of the cooperation model between SAE and Toshiba?

Andy: SAE's large - scale hard - drive head production facilities have been in operation in China for more than 30 years. SAE is also Toshiba's cooperative manufacturer for hard drives in China. This co - location collaboration model shortens the delivery cycle between SAE and Toshiba, reduces transportation costs, and improves inventory - management efficiency. In addition, placing the hard - drive head supplier and the hard - drive manufacturing industry in the same location enables closer technical cooperation, faster feedback on new designs, and faster integration of advanced designs into Toshiba's hard drives. This provides a competitive advantage for Toshiba.

36Kr: In the era of large models and embodied intelligence, how have the competition dimensions in the hard - drive manufacturing field changed? How does SAE respond to these changes and consolidate its advantages through more flexible, precise, and stable innovation technologies and production capabilities?

Andy: In the era of big data and artificial intelligence, the main challenge faced by the hard - drive industry is to continuously increase storage capacity within the same form factor while maintaining the cost, performance, and reliability of hard drives. Therefore, we need to apply new hard - drive head technologies (such as HAMR and MAMR) and advanced manufacturing technologies with an accuracy of up to the Angstrom level (one - tenth of a nanometer). In the past 15 years, SAE has invested a large amount of resources in developing MAMR and HAMR hard - drive head technologies. Currently, we are mass - producing MAMR hard drives and plan to be ready for the production of HAMR products in 2027. To achieve the manufacturing capabilities for MAMR and HAMR technologies, SAE has invested in fully automated manufacturing and testing processes to meet the precision requirements of MAMR and HAMR technologies.

36Kr: What level has SAE reached in terms of the intelligent factory system, and how will it be planned and laid out in the future?

Andy: In the past 10 years, SAE has replaced manual operation processes with automated equipment and established basic digital connections. In recent years, we have focused on the horizontal and vertical development of integrated systems and used data analysis to optimize and coordinate processes. In the long term, we are developing intelligent systems to optimize our work processes in real - time.

36Kr: Can you share a specific case to illustrate how SAE's innovative automation system has significantly improved Toshiba's supply - chain and full - process service - management capabilities?

Andy: The manufacturing of hard - drive heads using MAMR and HAMR technologies requires precision manufacturing processes at the Angstrom level, which can only be achieved through fully automated manufacturing processes. SAE provides a one - stop solution from HAMR/MAMR hard - drive head design, process development, test development to equipment manufacturing to support Toshiba's hard drives in achieving the surface density required for next - generation HDD technologies, thereby meeting market demand. In this way, Toshiba can focus on the design of hard - drive products, while SAE provides strong manufacturing support and logistics management, enabling Toshiba to become a key player in the high - capacity hard - drive industry.

36Kr: Toshiba has established a nearline hard - drive production line in mainland China and successfully achieved mass production. What significance does this unique localization strategy have for ensuring the supply and response speed for Chinese customers?

Fujimori: The core goal of this production line is to focus on serving Chinese customers. According to our data, since its establishment in 2023, more than 70% of customers have completed production - line audits and factory technical visits. As of the third quarter of 2025, the shipment volume of hard drives manufactured by SAE has exceeded one million, and it will play a more important role in supporting Chinese customers in the future.

China is the world's second - largest market and is still growing rapidly. Some of our Chinese customers are also world - class product or service providers. Therefore, for Toshiba, SAE's priority supply will help these customers increase their market share in global competition.

On the other hand, localized production in China also has geographical advantages. Our service team and factory can communicate with customers more conveniently. Many customers have visited the factory multiple times and had face - to - face meetings with SAE, which has significantly improved the efficiency of problem - solving and service. Now, customers' demand for visiting SAE is increasing, and this localized production model is becoming part of the bond between us and customers.

36Kr: How has Toshiba's introduction of high - capacity hard - drive production and technology into mainland China had a positive impact on improving the local storage industry chain and cultivating technical talents?

Andy: China is one of the fastest - growing data - center markets in the world. Localized production has significantly improved the efficiency of business support and service response speed for domestic data - center customers. The daily communication and interaction among Toshiba's hard - drive engineers, SAE's engineers, and data - center engineers contribute to accelerating the development of the skills of Chinese engineers in various aspects of high - capacity hard - drive technology.

Andy, President of SAE

Promote "High - Capacity" Innovation with Pragmatism and Trust

36Kr: Currently, there are challenges in the global nearline HDD supply, and high - capacity SSDs are also developing rapidly. How does SAE explain the long - term value of HDDs to customers? How does it collaborate with Toshiba to ensure the customer supply chain in practice?

Andy: The long - term value of HDDs to customers depends on whether HDDs can provide an economical, efficient, and reliable data - storage solution to meet the growing data - storage needs in the era of big - data and artificial - intelligence applications. This requires continuous development of advanced data - recording technologies to match the increasing surface - density requirements and ultimately achieve cost savings. In addition, it is also very important to meet customers' requirements through accurate demand forecasting and investment planning. Timely communication and close cooperation between Toshiba and SAE in technology development, demand forecasting, investment planning, and resource planning are equally important.

36Kr: From the perspective of product - design updates, what innovative technologies does Toshiba use to ensure that its products are trusted and chosen by customers in the long run?

Fujimori: We know that users expect the hard - drive capacity to grow rapidly because the advantage of HDDs lies in their cost - effectiveness per unit of storage. We have the responsibility to meet users' expectations and provide reliable and stable hard - drive products. We are in a technological transition period from traditional Perpendicular Magnetic Recording (PMR) to energy - assisted perpendicular magnetic recording, such as Microwave - Assisted Magnetic Recording (MAMR) and Heat - Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR). The 12 - platter stacking technology has been verified and can be used for PMR and HAMR, which can provide 30 - 32TB PMR CMR hard drives and, in the future, HDDs with a capacity of over 50TB based on HAMR technology.

36Kr: In SAE's operation, how does it combine Toshiba's global standards with China's local high - efficiency productivity? Since the completion of the new NL HDD production line in 2023, how has SAE combined Toshiba's globally unified technical standards with China's local high - efficiency productivity in factory operation to achieve high - quality delivery?

Andy: In 2023, when Toshiba transferred the complete NL HDD production line and its Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) to SAE, it also provided operation training for our engineers. After mastering the production experience of NL HDDs, SAE's engineers, with their profound manufacturing background, further improved the process yield and manufacturing efficiency.

36Kr: If you were to use a few keywords to summarize the trend of Toshiba's joint progress with the Chinese storage market in 2025, what would they be? Looking ahead to the next three years, what would be the clearest "milestone" in Toshiba's technological development?

Fujimori: For 2025, the keywords I choose are "synchronization" and "interaction." We maintain close communication with customers and provide timely responses and services based on their feedback and needs. In the future market, driven by artificial intelligence, the global market is developing rapidly, which may continue until the end of 2026. There are also many project demands in the Chinese market, so the supply will be relatively tight. We will maximize our supply capacity through this close cooperation.

Our future technological milestone is undoubtedly to launch HDDs with larger capacities. Toshiba has just announced the successful verification of the 12 - platter stacking technology, which will contribute