#South Korea #Seoul #SK hynix #NAND storage #AIN Family

SK hynix Unveils Next Generation NAND Storage Strategy at OCP 2025

At the 2025 OCP (Open Compute Project) Global Summit held from October 13 to 16 in San Jose, California, SK hynix showcased its strategic roadmap for next-generation NAND storage products. The company introduced the 'AIN Family', a series designed specifically to cater to the increasing demands of artificial intelligence (AI) applications. As the AI inference market continues to expand, the need for high-efficiency NAND storage capable of processing massive datasets swiftly has become crucial.

Chun Sung Kim, the Head of eSSD Product Development at SK hynix, detailed the three distinct categories of the AIN Family: Performance (P), Bandwidth (B), and Density (D). Each product in the family aims to optimize specific aspects of data handling relevant to AI workloads.

Performance-Optimized Solutions

The AIN P (Performance) solution is designed to manage the extensive data generated from large-scale AI inference operations. This innovative product enhances processing speeds and improves energy efficiency by reducing bottlenecks between data storage and AI functions. SK hynix is currently developing new structures for both NAND and controllers aimed at speeding up processing times significantly, with sample releases targeted for year-end 2026.

Enhancing Density for Efficient Storage

Next in line is the AIN D (Density) solution, which focuses on maximizing storage capacity with minimal power consumption. This product aspires to elevate storage density from the current terabyte (TB) level to a petabyte (PB) level, aligning with the needs to handle AI data efficiently. It aims to combine the high speeds of solid-state drives (SSDs) with the cost-effectiveness of hard disk drives (HDDs).

Innovations in Bandwidth

The AIN B (Bandwidth) solution stands out by utilizing SK hynix's HBF™ (High Bandwidth Flash) technology, which involves vertically stacking multiple NANDs to expand bandwidth. The insights gained from developing high-bandwidth memory (HBM) technology have fueled the early-stage research of AIN B, focusing on bridging the memory capacity gap that arises from the scaling challenges faced by AI models, particularly large language models (LLMs).

Collaborative Ecosystem Development

To enhance the industry ecosystem surrounding these innovative products, SK hynix hosted an event, 'HBF Night', in collaboration with Sandisk, following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for HBF standardization. This gathering attracted numerous industry experts, engineers, and academia members, facilitating discussions on collaborative efforts to innovate NAND storage solutions further.

Ahn Hyun, President and Chief Development Officer at SK hynix, emphasized the importance of these developments, stating, "Through OCP Global Summit and HBF Night, we were able to showcase SK hynix's present and future as a global AI memory solution provider, thriving in a rapidly evolving AI market. In the next generation NAND storage market, SK hynix will collaborate closely with customers and partners to become a key player."

This initiative not only positions SK hynix at the forefront of NAND storage innovation but also reaffirms its commitment to address the accelerating demands of the AI era. As they advance their technology and solutions, customers and partners can anticipate a new standard in data processing efficiency that is vital for the exponential growth of AI applications.

Conclusion

With the unveiling of the AIN Family at OCP 2025, SK hynix continues to pave the way in the semiconductor industry, addressing crucial needs in processing, storage, and bandwidth for the next generation of AI technologies. The company's proactive stance ensures that it remains an essential player in the future landscape of NAND storage solutions.