SK hynix announced on June 28 that it has completed the development of ‘PCB01’, an SSD (Solid State Drive) for on-device AI PCs, which boasts the highest performance in the industry, and plans to start mass production within the year.

SK hynix emphasized the breakthrough in performance, including data processing speeds, by applying the ‘8-channel PCIe 5th generation’ standard for the first time to PCB01. “Following our leadership in ultra-high-performance DRAM represented by HBM, we have now also achieved the highest level of product development in NAND solutions, solidifying our leadership in the AI memory sector,” the company stated.

PCIe is a serial high-speed input/output interface used on the mainboards of digital devices, known for its capability for high-speed data transmission.

The sequential read and write speeds of PCB01 are 14GB per second and 12GB per second, respectively, making it the top-performing SSD for PCs in the industry. It is capable of running Large Language Models (LLM), necessary for AI training and inference, within one second. Additionally, its power efficiency has improved by more than 30% compared to the previous generation, significantly enhancing the stability of large-scale AI computational tasks.

SK hynix has also implemented SLC caching technology in this product. This technology operates part of the NAND storage cells as faster SLCs, helping PC users to perform regular computing tasks quickly, besides AI services.

Security features have also been included to protect personal information. The company’s technical team has embedded a Root Of Trust (ROT) in PCB01 to prevent external security attacks and data tampering, while also protecting user passwords. PCB01 will be released in three capacities: 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB.

Certification work with global PC clients is currently underway. Once certification is complete, mass production is set to begin within the year, and the product will be launched for both major clients and general consumers.

SK hynix is also focusing on enterprise SSDs for AI data centers. Through its subsidiary Solidigm, it is accelerating the production of SSDs based on QLC (Quad-Level Cell) technology with capacities exceeding 60TB, and plans to introduce products with capacities up to 300TB in the future.

SK hynix is closely following Samsung Electronics in the enterprise SSD market. According to market research firm TrendForce, Samsung Electronics held a 45% market share in the fourth quarter of last year, ranking first. However, SK hynix and Solidigm recorded a market share of 32% in the same quarter, up 7.1 percentage points from the previous quarter, closing the gap with Samsung.

According to market research firm Omdia, the global SSD market is expected to grow from $16.693 billion last year to $38.564 billion by 2027.

Source: BusinessKorea