KIOXIA America, Inc. has announced the upcoming debut of its LC9 Series SSD, a new high-capacity enterprise solid-state drive (SSD) with 122.88 terabytes (TB) of storage, purpose-built for advanced AI applications. Featuring the company’s latest BiCS FLASH™ generation 8 3D QLC (quad-level cell) memory and a fast PCIe® 5.0 interface, this cutting-edge drive is designed to meet the exploding data demands of artificial intelligence and machine learning systems.

As enterprises scale up AI workloads—including training large language models (LLMs), handling massive datasets, and supporting vector database queries—the need for efficient, high-density storage becomes paramount. The LC9 SSD addresses these needs with a compact 2.5-inch form factor and dual-port capability, providing both high capacity and fault tolerance in mission-critical environments.

Form factor refers to the physical size and shape of the drive—in this case, 2.5 inches, which is standard for enterprise server deployments.
PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) is the fast data connection standard used to link components to a system’s motherboard.
NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) is the protocol used by modern SSDs to communicate quickly and efficiently over PCIe interfaces.

Accelerating AI with Storage Innovation

The LC9 Series SSD is designed with AI-specific use cases in mind—particularly generative AI, retrieval augmented generation (RAG), and vector database applications. Its high capacity enables data-intensive training and inference processes to operate without the bottlenecks of traditional storage.

It also complements KIOXIA’s AiSAQ™ technology, which improves RAG performance by storing vector elements on SSDs instead of relying solely on costly and limited DRAM. This shift enables greater scalability and lowers power consumption per TB at both the system and rack levels.

“AI workloads are pushing the boundaries of data storage,” said Neville Ichhaporia, Senior Vice President at KIOXIA America. “The new LC9 NVMe SSD can accelerate model training, inference, and RAG at scale.”

Industry Insight and Lifecycle Considerations

Gregory Wong, principal analyst at Forward Insights, commented:

“Advanced storage solutions such as KIOXIA’s LC9 Series SSD will be critical in supporting the growing computational needs of AI models, enabling greater efficiency and innovation.”

As organizations look to adopt next-generation SSDs like the LC9, many are also taking steps to responsibly manage legacy infrastructure. This includes efforts to sell SSD units from previous deployments—a common practice in enterprise IT to recover value, reduce e-waste, and meet sustainability goals. Secondary markets for enterprise SSDs remain active, especially with the ongoing demand for storage in distributed and hybrid cloud systems.
LC9 Series Key Features

122.88 TB capacity in a compact 2.5-inch form factor

PCIe 5.0 and NVMe 2.0 support for high-speed data access

Dual-port support for redundancy and multi-host connectivity

Built with 2 Tb QLC BiCS FLASH™ memory and CBA (CMOS Bonded to Array) technology

Endurance rating of 0.3 DWPD (Drive Writes Per Day) for enterprise workloads

The KIOXIA LC9 Series SSD will be showcased at an upcoming technology conference, where the company is expected to demonstrate its potential role in powering the next generation of AI-driven innovation.

For data centers, AI research labs, and cloud service providers aiming to future-proof their storage infrastructure, the KIOXIA LC9 Series represents a significant leap forward. As enterprises transition to next-generation drives like the LC9, many are choosing to sell SSD hard drives from legacy deployments to maximize asset value and minimize electronic waste. The secondary market for enterprise-grade SSDs continues to thrive, offering an effective path for cost-efficient upgrades and supporting broader IT asset disposition (ITAD) strategies.