Tesla Inc. is negotiating with SK Hynix Inc. for a potential 1 trillion won ($740 million) purchase of enterprise solid-state drives, marking the EV maker’s latest move to advance its artificial intelligence capabilities.
The talks center on acquiring eSSDs, crucial components that work alongside high-bandwidth memory chips in AI systems. These storage devices are essential for Tesla’s Dojo supercomputer project, which underpins the company’s self-driving technology development.
SK Hynix has positioned itself as a key player in the rapidly expanding eSSD market through its subsidiary Solidigm. The unit has developed 61.44 terabyte drives, currently the industry’s highest capacity, attracting attention from major tech firms including Microsoft Corp. and Amazon.com Inc.
The Korean chipmaker reported that its eSSD sales surged 40% year-over-year in the third quarter, now representing over 20% of its total NAND sales. This growth aligns with broader market trends, as global eSSD sales nearly doubled to $4.3 billion in the third quarter from the first quarter, according to TrendForce.
The potential deal emerges as competition intensifies in the high-capacity storage sector. Samsung Electronics Co. plans to challenge Solidigm’s market leadership with its own 236-terabyte eSSD launch in November.
