Nvidia reportedly partners with Kioxia to create 100x faster SSDs

Nvidia’s working with Kioxia to create SSDs that mount directly to their AI GPUs

Nvidia has reportedly begun collaborating with Kioxia to develop a new SSD that can directly connect to graphics cards, delivering enhanced AI performance and expanded memory capabilities. With this tech, Nvidia would no longer be reliant on HBM memory advancements to increase the size of the memory pools on its newest AI hardware, giving Nvidia another advantage over its partners.

To meet Nvidia’s aims, Kioxia is reportedly working on SSD hardware that can deliver 100 million IOPS (Input Output per Second) of performance. That’s roughly 100x faster than standard PC-grade SSDs. These planned SSDs are expected to be PCIe 7.0 compliant. It has been reported that Kioxia intends to release these new SSDs by 2027.

Until now, SSDs have typically been connected to GPUs via the CPU (Central Processing Unit), but Kioxia is collaborating with Nvidia to develop an SSD that can connect directly to the GPU to exchange data.

To exchange data with the GPU at high speed, the random access performance for data reads will be increased to 100 million IOPS (Input Output Per Second), nearly 100 times faster than before. NVIDIA says it is requesting 200 million IOPS from the SSD connected to the GPU, and this requirement will be met with two SSDs. It is expected to be compatible with PCIe 7.0, the next-generation standard for the SSD interface known as PCIe (PCI Express).

– Nikkei (Translated)

Memory capacity and bandwidth are both limiting the performance and capabilities of AI hardware. Nvidia has tasked Kioxia with creating SSDs that are fast enough to replace HBM. This could make NAND memory the default memory type for high-end AI hardware.

Even if Kioxia fails to meet its goals, its ambitions alone should prompt HBM memory manufacturers to accelerate HBM development. This may accelerate the pace of HBM advancement. This could lead to boosted HBM bandwidth and higher module capacities. It could also create a future where both HBM memory and NAND is used in a hybrid manner.

You can join the discussion on Nvidia’s plans to kill HBM memory using Kioxia SSD tech on the OC3D Forums.