Western Digital exits SSD market, shifts focus to hard drives as SanDisk takes over NAND operations

The big picture: Western Digital, a titan in the storage industry long renowned for its hard disk drives and solid-state drives, has officially separated its NAND flash memory business, effectively ending the company’s direct involvement in SSD production and sales. Western Digital’s exit from the market leaves behind a legacy of innovation and quality that has significantly impacted the PC gaming community.

This move, which had been in development for some time, was finalized last week. The SSD division has been fully spun off into SanDisk, leaving Western Digital to focus exclusively on hard disk drive technology. This separation marks a pivotal moment for the company, which has been a household name in both HDD and SSD markets, competing alongside industry giants like Samsung and Crucial.

For PC gaming enthusiasts, who have increasingly gravitated toward SSDs for their superior speed and performance, this development represents a bittersweet moment. Western Digital has produced some of the most popular SSDs in the gaming community, with the WD Black SN850X currently holding the title of best SSD for gaming. The iconic WD_Black design has become a staple in the industry, and its potential absence from future products marks the end of an era.

However, it’s important to note that this corporate restructuring doesn’t spell the end of SSD production altogether. SanDisk, which has already been overseeing flash memory-related operations since last year, will continue to manufacture and sell SSDs. The groundwork for this transition was laid in October 2023, allowing the industry ample time to prepare for the change.

The production of SSDs is expected to continue without significant disruption. Western Digital had been utilizing Kioxia’s (formerly Toshiba) manufacturing facilities for NAND production, and this arrangement could continue under SanDisk’s management.

Alternatively, SanDisk may partner with other manufacturers, such as Samsung, to meet production needs.

The most noticeable change for consumers will likely be the absence of the familiar WD branding on future SSD products. The industry will be watching to see how SanDisk brands its SSDs moving forward, given that simply replacing ‘WD’ with ‘SD’ could lead to confusion with SD cards used in cameras and handheld devices.

Meanwhile, Western Digital is focusing on the evolving opportunities in the HDD market. “As AI accelerates and impacts industries around the world, and as companies generate and store more data, HDD exabyte shipments are expected to increase,” CEO Irving Tan said. He also points out that much of the data stored by cloud service providers, such as native cloud application data, AI data lakes, media, and machine learning data, runs on HDDs.

Tan said the near-term plan is to deliver HAMR when it reaches economic crossover. “Beyond HDD, our teams are exploring new growth opportunities that leverage our core capabilities in magnetics and materials science, and with their dedication, the possibilities for future applications of our technologies are truly endless.”

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