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Time of India

While big tech builds massive data centers, Seagate drops bombshell with 40TB drives that can change everything

Seagate has already shipped some 40TB hard drives, but they are not available for public sale yet. These new drives use Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording (HAMR) tech to store more data on each disk platter , 4TB per platter multiple 10 platters is equal to 40TB, as per reports. The drives are built on a new platform called Mozaic 4 plus, which is part of Seagate's next-gen storage tech. Only limited units have been sent to Seagate's customers so far for testing. Big testing phase will continue into 2026, so these drives won't be mass-produced until the first half of 2026. The goal is to move a large chunk of Seagate's data storage to HAMR-based drives because they're more efficient for data centers. These high-capacity drives help reduce space and increase efficiency in massive data centers , that's where the real use is. Seagate leads, but HAMR lags Seagate also plans to launch 44TB drives by 2027 and 50 TB drives by 2028. Their original target was 50TB by 2026, but it's delay shows how hard it is to scale HAMR tech. Still, this 40TB drive puts Seagate ahead in the race to make the world's biggest hard drive. Rival company Western Digital is going a different route , they're still using ePMR and OptiNAND for now. WD is also working on HAMR, but they'll launch their 40TB HAMR HDD only by late 2026. WD says HAMR will be truly useful only at 40TB and beyond, so till then they're improving old tech like UltraSMR to stretch HDD capacity. Live Events Toshiba, another competitor, is working on Microwave-Assisted Magnetic Recording (MAMR) right now. Toshiba wants to release a 35 TB HAMR drive before 2026 and may combine MAMR plus HAMR to push capacity. These drives are not for regular people or gamers , they're designed for huge data centers and AI-heavy work like cybersecurity. Even though it's not in stores, Seagate's 40 TB shipment proves they're leading the tech game, even if it'll take time to fully roll out. But still, getting to commercial use will be tough, and other companies are being cautious , that shows it's a long, tricky journey. FAQs Q1. What is Seagate's 40TB hard drive used for? It's made for big data centers, not for personal or home use. Q2. When will Seagate's 40TB drive be available to buy? Mass production may start in 2026 after testing is finished.