As AI Data Surges, WD Outlines a New Path to Economically Scalable Storage Infrastructure

Western Digital (WDC) will use the AI Infrastructure Summit in Santa Clara, Calif., on September 15-17, 2026, to outline its view on economically scalable storage for AI workloads.

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At AI Infrastructure Summit, WD will highlight how AI-driven data growth is reshaping infrastructure requirements at scale

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- As AI moves from experimentation to deployment, organizations are confronting a new infrastructure reality: while compute cycles are temporary, the data AI creates continues to accumulate. As that data compounds, the ability to store, manage and access it economically is becoming a critical consideration for long-term AI success.

At AI Infrastructure Summit, September 15-17 in Santa Clara, Calif., Tim Rausch, SVP of HDD Development at WD, will discuss how AI is reshaping infrastructure requirements and why economically scalable capacity is emerging as a foundational element of the AI era.

The session builds on findings from the recently released IDC white paper, sponsored by WD, Built for Scale: The Enduring Role of HDDs in the AI Era, which found that:

• 61% of surveyed organizations experienced data growth of 25% or more over the past year due to AI
• 74% expect data volumes to grow 25% or more over the next three years
• 85.4% reported growth in data lake volumes over the past 12 months

During the keynote, Rausch will share WD’s vision for helping customers manage AI’s growing data footprint while balancing capacity, performance, power efficiency and economics at scale. He will also discuss innovations designed to support the next generation of AI infrastructure as organizations seek to retain more data, derive more value from it and scale AI with confidence.

• WHAT: Reinventing Storage for AI at Scale
• WHO: Tim Rausch, SVP, HDD Development, WD
• WHEN: Sept. 16, 2026 | 3:50pm
• WHERE: AI Infrastructure Summit | Santa Clara, Calif. | Main Stage

In addition to the keynote, WD will showcase its enterprise storage portfolio in booth # 605. The demos will highlight how WD is helping hyperscalers, CSPs, neo clouds and data center customers achieve the capacity, efficiency, and economics required for AI infrastructure at scale.

Source: IDC White Paper, Sponsored by Western Digital Corporation, Built for Scale: The Enduring Role of HDDs in the AI Era, Doc. #US54789026, September 2026.

About WD

WD, also known as Western Digital, builds the storage infrastructure that powers certainty in the AI-driven data economy. At the forefront of innovation, WD partners with the world's leading hyperscalers, cloud service providers, and enterprises to enable reliable storage solutions that are proven and trusted at scale. Driven by a culture of innovation and execution, WD helps customers store, protect, and use the world's data with confidence. Follow WD on LinkedIn and learn more at www.wd.com.

©2026 Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

WD, the WD design, and Western Digital are registered trademarks or trademarks of Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates in the US and/or other countries. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

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Media Contact
WD.Mediainquiries@wdc.com

Source: Western Digital Corporation

Key Terms

hdds technical

HDDs are hard disk drives: mechanical storage devices that use spinning disks and magnetic heads to record and retrieve digital data. They matter to investors because HDDs are a key product, inventory item, or cost center for technology and data-center companies; changes in HDD production, prices, demand, or component supply can affect revenue, margins, and capital spending. Think of HDDs like filing cabinets for digital information—larger-scale changes in their availability or price can alter business and industry economics.

data lake technical

A data lake is a large, centralized storage system that holds raw digital information in its original form — documents, spreadsheets, sensor logs, images, and more — rather than forcing everything into a neat structure first. For investors, a well-run data lake is like a company’s research library: it can speed product development, improve forecasting and risk detection, and support better decisions, but it also requires disciplined management to avoid becoming disorganized and costly.

hyperscalers technical

Hyperscalers are large technology companies that operate massive computing networks and data centers to provide cloud services, data storage, and online infrastructure at an enormous scale. They are essential to the digital economy because they enable businesses and organizations to handle vast amounts of data and run complex applications efficiently. For investors, hyperscalers represent powerful engines of growth and innovation in the technology sector.