FADU and WD will work on flexible data placement technology for enterprise SSDs. Credit: Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock.

South Korea-based fabless semiconductor company FADU has formed a partnership with data storage technology company Western Digital (WD) to co-develop a new technology for solid-state drives (SSDs). 

The companies will work on flexible data placement (FDP) technology for enterprise SSDs, which are storage devices used in data centres. 

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The FDP technology is known for improving the performance, reliability, and lifespan of SSDs. 

FADU, which was established in 2015, is engaged in producing high-performance SSD controllers and focuses on designing chips for data centres. 

OCP (Open Compute Project), a group of large tech businesses that meets to explore standards for next-generation data centres, has endorsed FDP as a standard.  

Specifically, Meta proposed it, and major tech firms such as Google are racing to implement it. 

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According to FADU, by lowering the “write amplification” phenomena, which shortens the life and performance of SSDs by logging more data than the actual customer data, FDP increases SSD write speed by up to three times.  

Furthermore, it has the potential to increase the lifespan of SSDs, making it a key technical advancement for large data centres with high data exchange rates. 

FADU CEO Lee Ji-hyo, as reported by the Korea JoongAng Daily, said “FDP technology will enable the optimization of data allocation in SSD storage space, which is considered a significant feat in storage technology.  

“Through the partnership with Western Digital, FADU will offer storage solutions that can boost the performance and lifespan of SSDs by realizing top-tier level FDP technology.” 

In May 2024, South Korea announced a Won26trn ($19bn) package to support the country’s semiconductor sector.  

President Yoon Suk Yeol said that around Won17trn will be spent on a financial support programme for chips through the Korea Development Bank, which will go towards helping back large-scale investments by semiconductor companies in South Korea.  

Another Won1trn will be used to aid companies that design chips but outsource the manufacturing, according to Reuters.