SSDs with 1000-layer memory chips expected in 2027: ultra-fast 20TB NVMe drives for $250

KIOXIA is teasing the future of SSDs. The memory chip company aims to scale up flash memory to a 1000-layer beast, ushering in future-gen NVMe SSDs with insane 20TB capacities... selling for as little as $250.

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The company announced its goals at the recent International Memory Workshop held in Seoul, South Korea. During its keynote speech, KIOXIA explained how 3D NAND flash has rapidly advanced in the last few years and that the amount of storage in one square millimeter chip has grown by 10x in just 8 years.

KIOXIA highlighted that this is through the stacking process, with multiple layers of memory cells are crammed together in a vertical stack, which is why it's called 3D NAND. Each individual memory layer is small, which keeps wafer yields high and keeps them cost-efficient to manufacture. This is why we have super-fast 2TB SSDs for under $150, which would've been a dream in the years past.

As it stands, KIOXIA's largest flash chips have 162 layers, with 218-layer models coming soon. Samsung touted its 1000-layer 3D NAND flash for future-gen SSDs, which the South Korean memory giant expects to hit the market in 2027.

KIOXIA is aiming to get bit density down to 100Gb per square millimeter, which is pretty damn crammed... considering we're at the 20-30Gb per square millimeter right now. If we rewind the clock, we were at less than 1Gb per square millimeter, so the future looks mighty bright. 20TB ultra-fast, next-generation SSDs for under $250 sounds... rather amazing to me.