Seagate announces £115 million expansion of Northern Ireland research hub aiming to develop 100TB hard drives

Seagate commits £115 million to expand Northern Ireland research in Mozaic and photonics
Investment supports push toward 100TB hard drives with new jobs and supply chains
Partnership with Invest NI deepens university collaborations through Smart Nano NI Consortium

Seagate is expanding its long-running research presence in Northern Ireland with a five-year program focused on advancing hard drive technology.

The company said the initiative, supported by Invest Northern Ireland, will develop new photonics-based recording systems designed to push storage capacities toward 100TB.

The total funding amounts to £115 million (approximately $135 million), made up of £100 million from Seagate and a £15 million grant from Invest NI.

The road to 100TB

The investment is centered at Seagate’s Derry/Londonderry site, one of the region’s largest private employers with over 1,300 staff, where ongoing work on Mozaic heat assisted magnetic recording technology aims to scale drive capacities beyond 60TB and ultimately to 100TB.

John Morris, chief technology officer at Seagate, said, “In today’s AI-driven world, data volume isn’t just growing, the value of data is evolving as organizations rethink what it takes to train AI models and retain new, highly valuable data.”

The facility currently produces more than a quarter of the world’s recording heads and plays a critical role in laser research that underpins next-generation drives.

“To unlock data’s full potential, we need storage solutions that are not only massive in capacity but engineered for reliability, durability, and scale,” Morris added.

Kieran Donoghue, chief executive of Invest NI, described the move as a continuation of a three-decade collaboration.

“Through ongoing engagement and support, we have helped the facility here to evolve into a world leading manufacturing and pioneering R&D centre. We are delighted to support the Seagate team with this latest project and secure the development of the new recording heads and laser technology in the North-West,” he said.

Seagate says the program will create new skilled jobs in both R&D and production, while at the same time strengthening supply chains via local sourcing of materials and services.

Seagate is also increasing collaboration with universities under the Smart Nano NI Consortium, which focuses on nano-photonics research and innovation.