Toshiba Plans ¥60 Billion Philippines Expansion to Double AI Data-Center HDD Capacity

Toshiba is planning what the source describes as its first major investment in its HDD business in roughly five years, with about ¥60 billion earmarked for an expansion of its plant in the Philippines.

The company intends to double its production capacity for HDDs used in AI data centers during fiscal 2027, relative to its current level. The report does not disclose either the current production base or the resulting capacity in drives, TB, or any other unit, so the scale of the proposed output increase cannot be quantified beyond the planned doubling.

Toshiba also targets volume production of 65 TB-class HDDs by 2030, followed by a move toward volume production of 100 TB-class products. These are product-development and production targets, not confirmed commercially available volumes.

For data-center operators and infrastructure investors, the development points to the storage requirements accompanying AI deployment. The source characterises HDD storage cost per unit of capacity as about one-twentieth that of SSDs. This could preserve HDDs' role in AI infrastructure architectures where capacity economics matter more than maximum I/O performance.

According to the source, Toshiba's global HDD share by storage capacity is slightly above 10%, with a medium-term objective of 30%. The global HDD market is described as concentrated among Seagate Technology, Western Digital and Toshiba. If Toshiba executes the planned expansion and product roadmap, it could increase competitive pressure in high-capacity storage for AI data centers.