What if the three remaining hard disk manufacturers became two? Seagate Technology and Western Digital control 90% of the market, according to market researcher TrendForce, with Toshiba picking up the crumbs.
Seagate and WD both make their own magnetic drive heads, but Toshiba relies on a third party, TDK, which also sells to Seagate and WD when they need extra capacity.
Seeking to guarantee supplies of this critical component, Toshiba made a bid for TDK’s drive head business earlier this year, according to Bloomberg. Concerned that this could affect its ability to meet the growing demand for hard disks from AI data centers, Seagate made a counteroffer, Bloomberg reported. TDK is staying mum.