Samsung Develops First Automotive SSD Based on New V-NAND

Samsung developed the industry’s first PCIe 4.0 automotive SSD based on eighth-generation vertical NAND (V-NAND). With high speeds and enhanced reliability, the new auto SSD, AM9C1 is an optimal solution for on-device AI capabilities in automotive applications.

With about 50% improved power efficiency compared to its predecessor, the AM991, the new 256GB auto SSD will deliver sequential read and write speeds of up to 4,400 megabytes-per-second (MB/s) and 400MB/s, respectively. “We are collaborating with global autonomous vehicle makers and providing high-performance, high-capacity automotive products,” said Hyunduk Cho, Vice President and Head of Automotive Group at Samsung's Memory Business.

Built on Samsung’s 5-nanometer (nm) controller and providing a single-level cell (SLC) Namespace feature, the auto SSD AM9C1 demonstrates high performance for easier access to large files. By switching from its original triple-level cell (TLC) state to SLC mode, users can enjoy boosted read and write speeds of up to 4,700MB/s and 1,400MB/s, respectively, while also benefiting from the added reliability of SLC SSDs.

The 256GB AM9C1 is currently sampled by Samsung's partners and is expected to begin mass production by the end of this year. Samsung plans to offer multiple storage capacities for the AM9C1 ranging from 128GB to 2 TB to address the growing demand for high-capacity automotive SSDs. The 2TB model, which is set to offer the industry’s largest capacity in this product category, is scheduled to start mass production early next year.