Cerabyte Plans 100 PB Ceramic Nano Memory Storage by 2030

Cerabyte has unveiled a detailed roadmap for its Ceramic Nano Memory archival storage system, promising a cloud-based platform capable of storing over 100 PB per rack by 2030. The company expects data transfer speeds to climb above 2 GB/s and the time to first byte to fall below 10 seconds, a dramatic improvement over its current pilot system, which delivers just 1 GB per rack, 100 MB/s throughput, and a 90-second access time. The initial pilot, running through 2026, validates the 1 PB per rack design. A mid-cycle refresh around 2027-2028 will boost rack density into the double-digit petabyte range, halve access times, and more than double throughput. By 2029-2030, Cerabyte aims to reach its full 100 PB capacity, sustain transfer rates exceeding 2 GB/s, and reduce access latency to under 10 seconds. Cerabyte’s approach relies on 100 µm-thin glass panels coated with a 10 nm ceramic film. Data are inscribed by etching microscopic holes in the ceramic layer using a femtosecond laser, creating patterns that a high‑resolution camera can read.

Multiple 9×9 cm tablets fit into cartridges similar in size to magnetic tape, and robotic arms handle all media swapping. Financially, Cerabyte projects that the total cost of ownership will decrease from approximately $7,000-$8,000 per PB-month today to just $6-$8 per PB-month by 2030. Supporters include Pure Storage, Western Digital, In-Q-Tel, and the European Innovation Council’s Accelerator fund. To date, the startup has secured roughly $10 million in seed financing, along with more than $4 million in grants. Compared with traditional tape libraries, Cerabyte’s system offers at least twice the bandwidth, a lifespan exceeding 100 years versus tape’s 7-15 years, and half the cost per terabyte. Additionally, the company envisions adopting helium-ion beam writing by 2045 to shrink bit sizes from approximately 300 nm to 3 nm, a change that could increase per-rack capacity into the exabyte range.