£115 Million to Be Invested Over Five Years in Next-Gen Hard Drive Development to Help Cement Northern Ireland Leadership in Photonics Innovation
Derry/Londonderry, Northern Ireland, 11 September, 2025 — Seagate Technology Holdings plc (NASDAQ: STX), a leading innovator of mass-capacity data storage, today announced an extension of their long-standing relationship with Invest Northern Ireland (Invest NI) to invest in breakthrough nano-photonic innovation in Northern Ireland. Seagate’s investment of £100 million for this 5-year R&D project unlocks an additional £15 million grant from Invest NI, ultimately boosting Derry/Londonderry’s local economy and enabling Seagate to develop its Mozaic 6+ technology.
To meet rising global demand for data storage capacity, driven by hyperscale data centres and the AI data boom, Seagate is developing state-of-the-art hard drives that can achieve industry-leading data capacities. These investments will usher in the next generation of hard drive innovation and research and development at Seagate’s Derry/Londonderry site.
On the announcement, John Morris, CTO of Seagate Technology, said: “In today’s AI-driven world, data volume isn’t just growing — the value of data is evolving as organisations rethink what it takes to train AI models and retain new, highly valuable data. To unlock data’s full potential, we need storage solutions that are not only massive in capacity but engineered for reliability, durability and scale. That’s exactly what this investment enables. Our Northern Ireland facility is a global centre of excellence, producing over a quarter of the world’s recording heads and pioneering semiconductor laser R&D — critical for next-generation hard drives. With Invest NI’s support, we’re accelerating the development of 60 TB and beyond capacities, laying the foundation for achieving 100 TB drives. This project will expand our global engineering expertise and reinforce our long-standing commitment to innovation in Northern Ireland.”
“With Invest NI’s support, we’re accelerating the development of 60 TB and beyond capacities, laying the foundation for achieving 100 TB drives.”
John Morris
Seagate CTO
Kieran Donoghue, Chief Executive at Invest NI, said: “We have worked very closely with Seagate since convincing the company to establish in Northern Ireland over 30 years ago. Through ongoing engagement and support, we have helped the facility here to evolve into a world leading manufacturing and pioneering R&D Centre. We are delighted to support the Seagate team with this latest project and secure the development of the new recording heads and laser technology in the North-West.”
The combined investments will create new, highly skilled jobs within R&D and manufacturing departments at Seagate as well as expand the local supplier ecosystem through increased materials and labour sourcing from the local community. By leveraging public and private investment, Seagate and Invest NI will capitalize on homegrown expertise and excellence, boosting Northern Ireland’s international competitiveness and positioning the region as a global hub for innovation.
Fergus O’Donnell, VP of Wafer Operations NI, commented: “This renewed commitment will drive opportunity for our community as we continue to invest in a world-class team and facility at the site. Innovation and partnerships are central to our success and will strengthen our regional and global leadership in technology and manufacturing excellence.”
Invest NI plays a pivotal role in facilitating university collaborations with key industries in Northern Ireland, strengthening relationships between industry and academia and establishing a photonics eco-system for innovation excellence. Seagate's expertise in photonics (light-based technology) enhances its product offerings and contributes to advancements across multiple areas, like healthcare, analytics and diagnostics.
Through the Smart Nano NI Consortium, a regional programme focused on nano-photonics research and development, Seagate is working with key stakeholders to create new, advanced methods for making products smarter and more efficient. This collaboration is helping develop new technologies that benefit local businesses and research groups. Seagate's ongoing collaborations with local universities and research organisations, such as Queen's University Belfast and Ulster University, are advancing its R&D capabilities. Additional funding will also enable university programs to advance and grow.
About Seagate Technology
Seagate Technology is a leader in mass-capacity data storage. We’ve delivered more than four and a half billion terabytes of capacity over the past four decades. We make storage that scales, bringing trust and integrity to innovations that depend on data. In an era of unprecedented creation, Seagate stores infinite potential. To learn more about how Seagate leads storage innovation, visit www.seagate.com and our blog, or follow us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
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