Toshiba ships nearline HDDs from expanded Philippine plant as AI storage demand surges
Toshiba has begun shipping nearline hard drives from its expanded Laguna Technopark line in the Philippines, announced Oct. 2, and aims to nearly double the site's annual output measured by total storage capacity by fiscal 2027 versus fiscal 2025. The Philippine government said the multi-billion-peso investment will span three years and create about 3,000 jobs, while press reports citing Nikkei put the figure at roughly ¥60 billion ($380 million). Toshiba also plans 65TB-class drives around 2030, followed later by 100TB models.
AI data centers' appetite for cheap bulk storage is giving hard drives an unexpected second wind as SSD capacity stays far more expensive.
- Toshiba plans to nearly double AI storage HDD capacity by fiscal 2027
- Toshiba is spending $380 million to expand Philippine HDD production capacity
- New Toshiba drives could increase storage capacity by 40% per drive
Artificial intelligence is giving conventional hard drives an unexpected second wind, as data centers require enormous amounts of relatively affordable storage.
Toshiba is responding to this surge by investing 60 billion yen, or about $380 million, to expand its HDD manufacturing in the Philippines.
The company expects production capacity for AI and cloud storage drives to nearly double by fiscal 2027.
Toshiba prepares for the storage squeeze
The investment would become Toshiba's first major HDD expansion in roughly five years as the company responds to growing demand from AI infrastructure.
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