BOI Greenlights WD's $2,300M Hard Disk R&D for Data Center-AI

Prachachat•Economy•1d ago

Reader Briefing

The Thailand Board of Investment has approved Western Digital's substantial investment in R&D for advanced hard disk technology to meet the growing demands of Data Centers and AI.

•The Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) has approved investment promotion for Western Digital (WD).
•WD will invest over 2,300 million baht in research and development of new hard disk technologies.
•The project aims to increase HDD storage capacity to 100TB from the current 32TB by 2029.
•This R&D initiative is a trilateral collaboration involving the United States, Japan, and Thailand, focusing on laser-induced magnetic field recording technology (HAMR).

Overview

•The Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) approved investment promotion for Western Digital (WD).
•Western Digital's project involves an investment of over 2,300 million baht in research and development.
•The investment is to develop new hard disk technologies and upgrade advanced data storage systems.
•The project aims to increase the storage capacity of one HDD unit from the current 32TB to 100TB by 2029.
•This initiative supports the expansion of digital infrastructure, Data Center industries, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
•The goal is to enhance data storage stability and security to meet high standards and rapid growth demands in Data Center and AI industries.
•The R&D is a three-country collaboration involving the United States, Japan, and Thailand.
•Thailand's focus in the collaboration will be on researching and developing components and processes for laser-induced magnetic recording (HAMR).

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Key Entities

Organization

BOI(บีโอไอ)ℹ️

The Thailand Board of Investment, an organization responsible for approving and promoting investments in Thailand.

Western Digital(เวสเทิร์น ดิจิตอล)ℹ️

A major American hard disk drive manufacturer investing in research and development in Thailand.

Technology

Data Centerℹ️

An industry sector focused on housing and managing data storage infrastructure.

AIℹ️

Artificial Intelligence, a technological field driving the need for advanced data storage solutions.

HAMRℹ️

Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording, a critical component of the new hard disk technology being researched.