Toshiba plans to double AI data center hard drive production, Evercore comments

Toshiba plans to double its production capacity for AI data center hard disk drives within the fiscal year ending March 2028, according to a report from Nikkei on Friday.

The company will invest approximately 60 billion yen, or about $380 million, to expand its Philippines facility. This marks Toshiba’s first major hard disk drive investment in roughly five years.

The new production lines will manufacture drives with up to 40% more capacity per unit. Toshiba is targeting mass production of 65TB-class drives in 2030, with 100TB-class drives to follow.

The company aims to increase its market share by capacity from just over 10% currently to around 30% over the medium term.

Shares of Seagate Technology (NYSE:STX) and Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) traded down 10% and 6.7% in premarket trading, respectively, following the news.

According to Evercore, Seagate has allocated the majority of its nearline exabytes into calendar year 2028, while Western Digital is negotiating long-term agreements extending to calendar year 2031.

Toshiba relies on TDK for heads and Resonac for media, and HOYA for glass substrates. The company’s 40TB-class drive planned for 2027 uses MAMR technology and 12 platters rather than higher areal density.

Media capacity additions typically require 18 to 24 months to complete, while the conversion of capital expenditure to production units takes at least 12 to 18 months.