Sandisk unveils 256TB enterprise SSD at FMS 2025

Sandisk has showcased a new high-capacity 256TB NVMe enterprise SSD at the Flash Memory Summit (FMS) 2025, made possible by its newly introduced UltraQLC platform. The development represents a significant leap in storage performance, efficiency, and density, targeting hyperscale and AI-driven workloads.

The UltraQLC platform is built using BiCS8 QLC CBA NAND technology, custom controllers, and advanced system-level optimisations. According to the company, it is designed to address increasing demands in AI and data-intensive workloads such as data ingestion, preparation, and fast AI data lakes.

Khurram Ismail, Chief Product Officer at Sandisk, said: “Our UltraQLC platform is the culmination of years of work and learnings to build a flexible and robust architecture that achieves extraordinary capacities and maximum performance while maintaining efficiency.”

The Sandisk UltraQLC 256TB NVMe SSD introduces several innovations aimed at improving performance and reducing power consumption. These include:

• Direct Write QLC, which eliminates SLC buffering while providing power-loss safe writes on the first pass.
• BiCS8 2Tb QLC die, doubling storage density without increasing die size.
• Dynamic Frequency Scaling, projected to improve performance by up to 10% for a given power level.
• Scalable multi-core controller, designed to handle high throughput and endurance at large capacities.
• Data Retention (DR) profile, expected to reduce DR recycles by up to 33%, contributing to improved reliability and energy efficiency.

In addition to the flagship 256TB model, Sandisk also introduced the SN670 128TB NVMe SSD. Both will be available in U.2 form factor during the first half of 2026, with other formats planned for release later in the year.