WD is developing overlapping ePMR and HAMR product paths on a common architecture. Its roadmap includes 40TB UltraSMR production in the second half of 2026, HAMR production in 2027, ePMR extension to 60TB, and HAMR scaling to 100TB by 2029.

Expected impact: The common architecture is intended to improve manufacturing efficiency and let customers transition capacity technologies on their own schedules without forced infrastructure changes.

WD is developing High Bandwidth Drive technology, Dual Pivot architecture, and a power-optimized HDD. Management reports up to 2x initial bandwidth, a path to 8x bandwidth, up to 2x sequential I/O from Dual Pivot, and 20% lower power for the power-optimized design.

Expected impact: The technologies are intended to support higher-performance AI workloads at HDD economics and create a lower-power tier for data requiring sub-second access.

WD is expanding its Platforms business with an intelligent software layer designed to bring hyperscale storage deployment practices to AI and enterprise customers operating at more than 200 petabytes.

Expected impact: Management expects the platform to accelerate adoption of UltraSMR, ePMR, HAMR, and flash storage while reducing qualification risk and time to production.

WD integrated NIST-aligned post-quantum cryptography into the Ultrastar DC HC6100 UltraSMR platform, including ML-DSA-87 code signing, RSA-3072 dual signing, and supporting key-management infrastructure.

Expected impact: The initiative is designed to protect device trust chains and firmware integrity against future quantum-enabled signature attacks while supporting continuity across existing fleets.