Micron Unveils World's First PCIe Gen6 SSD for AI Data Centers

Micron Technology has launched three new data center SSDs built with Micron G9 NAND, including the world's first PCIe Gen6 NVMe SSD. The new products are designed to be powerful, energy-efficient, and space-efficient, and have been tested with major ecosystem partners. According to Micron, these new products will help redefine the frontier of data center innovation and cement the company's leadership in data center SSDs.

Micron Technology has introduced three new data center SSDs built on its latest Micron G9 NAND technology, including the world's first PCIe Gen6 NVMe SSD. These innovations are designed to meet the demands of high-performance AI workloads and modern data center requirements. The new products, which include the Micron 9650 SSD, 6600 ION SSD, and 7600 SSD, offer significant improvements in performance, energy efficiency, and storage density.

The Micron 9650 SSD, the first PCIe Gen6 NVMe drive, delivers up to 28 GB/s sequential read speed and 5.5 million IOPS for random reads, more than doubling the performance of competing drives. This makes it particularly suited for AI inference and training tasks where throughput and low latency are critical. The SSD also offers up to 67% better energy efficiency for reads and 25% for writes compared to Gen5 drives. It is available in both air- and liquid-cooled variants with E3.S and E1.S form factors [1].

The 6600 ION SSD brings unprecedented storage density to the data center, with a 122TB version arriving later this year and a 245TB model planned for early 2026. These drives aim to replace large HDD arrays and reduce physical rack space. The 7600 SSD, meanwhile, is optimized for Gen5 systems and strikes a balance between performance and energy efficiency, targeting common cloud workloads and edge deployments [1].

Micron has validated these new drives with major ecosystem partners including NVIDIA, Dell, Astera Labs, and Broadcom. Samples of the 9650 and 7600 SSDs are now available to customers, while the 122TB 6600 ION SSD is expected to ship later in Q3. Pricing details are not yet available [1].

These launches position Micron as a leader in high-performance, energy-efficient memory solutions for both data center infrastructure and the expanding space technology sector. The introduction of PCIe Gen6 SSD technology for AI data centers shapes Micron's growth outlook and industry positioning, while the continued margin pressure in the NAND business remains a key concern [2].

References:

[1] https://videocardz.com/newz/micron-unveils-9650-ssd-the-first-pcie-gen6-data-center-drive-with-up-to-28-gb-s-read-speeds
[2] https://simplywall.st/stocks/us/semiconductors/nasdaq-mu/micron-technology/news/how-investors-may-respond-to-micron-technology-mu-debuting-p