Western Digital unveils next-generation AI and HPC storage innovations at Supercomputing 2025

The company introduces advanced platforms, expanded partnerships, and new ecosystem capabilities aimed at transforming performance, scalability, and flexibility for AI and high-performance computing workloads

Western Digital has announced a series of next-generation storage solutions and strategic collaborations at Supercomputing 2025, positioning itself to meet the rapidly expanding demands of AI and high-performance computing (HPC) environments. The company aims to deliver major gains in performance, capacity, and scalability as customers confront increasingly data-intensive workloads.

“In the high-stakes world of AI breakthroughs and mission-critical HPC workloads, storage infrastructure must deliver trusted performance when discovery depends on it. Western Digital (Nasdaq: WDC), the backbone of the AI-driven data economy, is unveiling next-generation solutions and partnerships at Supercomputing 2025 that can fundamentally transform performance, capacity, flexibility and scalability for AI and HPC customers."

Breakthrough storage platforms to power AI innovation

At the event, Western Digital is showcasing how its storage platforms integrate with leading AI infrastructure providers to reduce bottlenecks and accelerate scientific and enterprise breakthroughs. In collaboration with PEAK:AIO, the company is demonstrating how modern NVMe-oF architectures can eliminate traditional storage constraints that hamper AI model development and deployment.

The live demos highlight scenarios in which storage scales independently from compute, giving organizations the ability to optimize resource utilization and speed up time-to-insight across highly demanding AI and HPC workloads.

Democratizing SMR technology for wider AI and HPC adoption

A key focus for Western Digital this year is expanding access to its high-capacity UltraSMR technology beyond hyperscale data centers. The company is working with ecosystem partners—including Leil Storage and Swiss Vault—whose specialized software unlocks the sequential write advantages of SMR, enabling broader adoption across research institutions, universities, and mid-market enterprises.

Western Digital’s Ultrastar Data60 and Data102 JBODs paired with UltraSMR HDDs are being showcased for their ability to deliver higher storage density and lower power consumption. With the latest 32TB UltraSMR HDDs, the Data102 platform achieves up to 3.26PB in a single enclosure, making exabyte-scale data management more efficient for HPC and AI-driven research environments.

Expanded OCCL ecosystem to enhance flexibility and reduce lock-in

The company is also highlighting major growth in the Open Composable Compatibility Lab (OCCL), which now includes new participants such as ASUS, Open-E, Solidigm, and others. The expanded ecosystem provides customers with pre-validated, interoperable solutions designed to accelerate deployment and reduce integration risks.

Through the OCCL’s vendor-neutral testing environment, organizations gain the flexibility to scale storage and compute independently without relying on proprietary architectures.

“At Supercomputing 2025, we're demonstrating Western Digital's leadership in enabling AI and HPC workloads to scale efficiently across every environment,” said Kurt Chan, vice president and general manager, Western Digital Platforms Business. “Our platforms serve as a force multiplier. From SMR democratization that makes exabyte-scale analysis accessible beyond hyperscalers to our expanded OCCL ecosystem, we're not just supporting today's AI infrastructure demands, we’re architecting the foundation for tomorrow's most ambitious computational workloads."

The demonstrations will run from November 16 to 21 at the America’s Center Convention Complex in St. Louis, with exhibit hours scheduled from November 18 to 20.