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

Industry’s First 3D TLC NAND e.MMC and First 256GB e.MMC Automotive
Grade EFD Designed for Advanced Applications such as Autonomous Drive,
Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality and Advanced Infotainment

Highlights

Western Digital iNAND AT EM132 embedded flash drive is an automotive
grade solution designed for car makers (OEMs) and tier-one system
providers looking to expand storage for advanced features
High capacity storage needs have shifted beyond map data and
application software to support connected cars, ADAS, autonomous and
safety features, increased sensors/compute power and Artificial
Intelligence

SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–lt;a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/ConnectedCars?src=hash” target=”_blank”gt;#ConnectedCarslt;/agt;–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.

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.

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.

Contacts

T. Peter Andrew
Western Digital Corporation
Investor Relations
949.672.9655
peter.andrew@wdc.com

Heather Davis
Western Digital Corporation
Public Relations
949.672.7920
heather.davis@wdc.com