[News] SK hynix Begins Shipping Industry-First 321-Layer QLC cSSD; Supplies Dell in April

As memory giants accelerate the phase-out of legacy NAND like MLC, they are doubling down on next-generation, high-performance storage to ride the AI wave. On April 8, SK hynix announced it has begun shipping its latest cSSD, PQC21 — the first in the industry to feature 321-layer QLC NAND flash.

Starting in April, SK hynix will kick off volume shipments to Dell Technologies, while steadily broadening its engagement with other leading global customers. Riding this momentum, it is targeting a dominant foothold in next-gen AI PC storage, with a clear push to scale its presence in the QLC-based cSSD segment, SK hynix states.

According to SK hynix, the solution integrates ultra-high 321-layer stacking with QLC architecture. Leveraging QLC’s four-bits-per-cell design, it significantly boosts storage density and maximizes capacity efficiency within the same physical footprint.

The product is available in 1TB and 2TB variants, offering customers greater flexibility to address a range of workload and deployment scenarios.

Chosun Biz reports that while TLC remains the mainstream standard in today’s NAND market, QLC adoption is gaining traction as the surge in AI-driven workloads fuels an unprecedented demand for higher-capacity storage.

The Korea Herald adds that NAND flash is categorized into SLC (1 bit), MLC (2 bits), TLC (3 bits), QLC (4 bits), and PLC (5 bits) based on the number of bits stored per cell. As bit density increases, each cell can hold more data, enabling higher capacity within the same physical footprint.

Meanwhile, New Daily highlights that while QLC delivers clear advantages in storage density, it has traditionally been viewed as lagging in performance, particularly in write speed. To mitigate this trade-off, SK hynix has implemented SLC caching technology, which temporarily writes data to faster SLC-mode regions before transferring it to QLC cells, the report adds.

Notably, SK hynix is also expanding its presence in the AI server and data center markets which require vast storage capacity. Having released the 61 TB QLC-based enterprise SSD (eSSD) PS1012 in 2024, the company is developing ultra-high-capacity solutions, including a 244 TB product using 321-layer 4D NAND flash and beyond.

Read more

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(Photo credit: SK hynix)