Seagate CEO hints at 150TB hard drives thanks to novel 15TB platters, but notes it won’t happen for another decade
- Seagate’s HAMR roadmap could deliver 150TB hard drives – but not before 2035
- Mozaic platform now enables 4TB platters, paving the way to 10TB disks by 2028
- Mozaic 4 to ship in 2026, while Mozaic 5 aims for late 2027 qualifications
At Seagate’s recent 2025 Investor and Analyst Conference, CEO Dr. Dave Mosley and CTO Dr. John Morris outlined the company’s long-term roadmap for hard drive innovation.
This hinted at the possibility of 150TB hard drives, the largest HDD ever, by groundbreaking 15TB platters, but cautioned that this milestone remains at least a decade away.
The foundation of this future lies in Seagate’s HAMR (Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording) technology, currently being deployed through the company’s Mozaic platform.
10TB per platter on track for 2028
“We have high confidence in our product roadmap through Mozaic 5. And notably, the design space for granular iron platinum media that’s in Mozaic 3 looks very viable to get us up to 10 terabytes per disk,” said Dr. Morris
That 10TB-per-disk benchmark is expected to be reached by 2028. “We do have confidence that we can provide a path to 10 terabytes per disk in roughly this time frame,” Morris added, explaining that spin-stand demonstrations of new technologies typically take five years to reach product qualification.
Looking beyond 10TB, Seagate is exploring how to extend the capabilities of its Iron Platinum media.
“We believe that there’s another level of extension of that granular iron platinum architecture that could theoretically get as high as 15 terabytes per disk,”
Such an achievement would pave the way for 150TB hard drives by stacking 10 platters per unit. However, he warned, “beyond 15 terabytes per disk is going to require some level of disruptive innovation.”
Seagate’s CEO, Dave Mosley, echoed this long-range vision, noting, “We now know how we can get to 4 and 5 and beyond. As a matter of fact, we have visibility… beyond 10 terabytes of disk with the HAMR technology.”
“It’s not going to be easy, but I’m convinced that’s going to keep us on a competitive cost trajectory that no other technology is going to supplant in the next decade, probably beyond.”
The company’s confidence is backed by recent milestones. Mozaic 3, which delivers 3TB per platter, is now in volume production, and Mozaic 4 (4TB per platter) is scheduled to enter customer qualification next quarter.
Seagate expects to begin volume shipments of Mozaic 4 drives in the first half of 2026. Meanwhile, Mozaic 5, targeting 5TB per platter, is planned for customer qualification in late 2027 or early 2028.
Still, Seagate made it clear that 150TB drives based on 15TB platters are not imminent. As Morris emphasized, “This is just one other element in the work that we do to underpin our strategy… it will take time. There’s still a lot of work in front of us to get there.”
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Seagate’s HAMR roadmap could deliver 150TB hard drives – but not before 2035 Mozaic platform now enables 4TB platters, paving the way to 10TB disks by 2028 Mozaic 4 to ship in 2026, while Mozaic 5 aims for late 2027 qualifications At Seagate’s recent 2025 Investor and Analyst Conference, CEO…
