Western Digital Addresses Increasing Data Demands Driven by Connected Cars Leading to an Autonomous Driving Future

Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) is addressing the automotive industry’s increasing need for storage by equipping vehicle manufacturers and system solution providers with the technology and capacity to support both current and future applications including e-cockpits, Artificial Intelligence (AI) databases, ADAS, advanced infotainment systems, and autonomous computers. As the first 256GB e.MMC using 64-Layer 3D NAND TLC flash technology in the automotive market, the new Western Digital® iNAND® AT EM132 EFD extends the life of e.MMC beyond 2D NAND to meet evolving application needs and growing capacity requirements.

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According to Neil Shah, partner and research director, Counterpoint Research, “Storage is one of the fastest growing semiconductor applications in a connected autonomous car. The advanced in-vehicle infotainment (IVI), AI and sensor-driven autonomous driving systems generate large amounts of data that needs to be processed and stored locally at the edge. The average capacity of storage required per vehicle is expected to balloon beyond 2TB by 2022.”

High capacity storage, typically used in cars for storing map data, application software and user information, is now finding its way into next-gen auto applications including data recorders, digital clusters, gateway, V2X communications, ADAS, AI and autonomous computers. This growing trend requires flash to be designed for extreme automotive environments, including temperature range up to 105°C, as well as meeting the quality and reliability requirements critical for these applications.

“High capacity storage with rigorous quality and reliability requirements is rapidly becoming the standard in the automotive sector,” said Oded Sagee, senior director, Devices, Western Digital. “This first-of-its-kind 3D TLC NAND e.MMC EFD is designed with the feature set and specifications to meet the demands of next-gen applications.”

The IATF16949 certified, AEC-Q100 compliant and adhering to the ISO26262 NAND flash Safety Mechanisms guidelines, iNAND AT EM132 EFD also encompasses a rich automotive feature set designed for intensive automotive workloads. Features include:

• Advanced health monitoring
• Thermal management
• Auto and manual read refresh
• Robust power management
• Data retention exceeding JEDEC standards

Using the most advanced data protection and error correction technologies, the Western Digital iNAND AT EM132 is designed specifically for product reliability.

Availability

Western Digital is currently sampling the iNAND AT EM132 with OEMs and tier-one suppliers. For more information, visit our website: Western Digital.

Resources

• Product Brief
• Announcement Blog
• “Tweet this”: “#Automotive industry’s first high capacity 3D TLC NAND e.MMC EFD built to tackle autonomous and #connectedcar #data demands for OEMs and suppliers - launched today from @westerndigital”
• Quote: “High capacity storage with rigorous quality and reliability requirements is rapidly becoming the standard in the automotive sector,” said Oded Sagee, senior director, Devices, Western Digital. “This first-of-its-kind 3D TLC NAND e.MMC EFD is designed with the feature set and specifications to meet the demands of next-gen applications.”

About Western Digital

Western Digital creates environments for data to thrive. The company is driving the innovation needed to help customers capture, preserve, access and transform an ever-increasing diversity of data. Everywhere data lives, from advanced data centers to mobile sensors to personal devices, our industry-leading solutions deliver the possibilities of data. Western Digital data-centric solutions are comprised of the Western Digital®, G-Technology™, SanDisk® and WD® brands.

Western Digital, the Western Digital logo and iNAND are registered trademarks or trademarks of Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other marks are the property of their respective owners. As used for storage capacity, one gigabyte (GB) = one billion bytes. Total accessible capacity varies depending on operating environment. Product specifications subject to change without notice. Pictures shown may vary from actual products. Not all products are available in all regions of the world.

© 2019 Western Digital Corporation or its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including the expected availability, benefits, capacities, features, performance, pricing and versions of the iNAND AT EM132 EFD. There are a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause these forward-looking statements to be inaccurate including, among others: changes to specifications from standards organizations, volatility in global economic conditions; business conditions and growth in the storage ecosystem; impact of competitive products and pricing; market acceptance and cost of commodity materials and specialized product components; actions by competitors; unexpected advances in competing technologies; our development and introduction of products based on new technologies and expansion into new data storage markets; risks associated with acquisitions, mergers and joint ventures; difficulties or delays in manufacturing; and other risks and uncertainties listed in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including the company's most recently filed periodic report, to which your attention is directed. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

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