Seagate Sets New Record with 36TB Hard Drive and Teases Upcoming 60TB Model

Seagate has taken a significant leap by introducing its largest-ever HDD, the 36TB Exos M. This model, already in the hands of select big players like Microsoft or AWS, tops the charts as the largest hard disk drive available on the market today.

Seagate has built this groundbreaking device on its well-established Mozaic 3+ platform.

This release follows the addition of a 32TB Exos M just last month, marking a quick succession from the company’s previous 30TB model launched almost a year ago.

While rivals like Western Digital also offer a 32TB HDD, and Toshiba has been experimenting with 31TB and 32TB models, Seagate distinguishes itself with its 10-platter design, compared to the 11 used by others.

Seagate is proud to highlight its unique ability to reach areal densities of 3.6TB per platter, with ambitious plans to push this up to 10TB per platter.

CEO Dave Mosley has shared insights into ongoing experiments that have surpassed 6TB per platter, hinting at potential 60TB hard drives that could hit the market by the end of the decade.

Switching gears from CMR and SMR technologies, Seagate’s new 36TB HDD utilizes HAMR technology—Heat-assisted magnetic recording.

This shift not only cuts costs by 25% per TB but also reduces power consumption by 60% per TB. Such advancements are crucial in maintaining HDD’s relevance in a market dominated by faster, denser SSDs.

Speaking of SSDs, 122TB models are expected to become available later this year, targeting datacenter markets at an estimated $80 per TB.

Though considerably more expensive, they cater to specific customer needs that prioritize speed and density over cost.

Dell has also weighed in on the matter, noting the importance of high-capacity, affordable HDDs in AI workloads, which support complex tasks such as retrieval augmented generation and agentic workflows.

For those wondering about availability, the 36TB HDD by Seagate is designed exclusively for the enterprise sector. Currently, the largest HDD available for retail purchase remains the 26TB Western Digital Gold Enterprise HDD, with higher capacities generally accessible only through system integrators or partners.