Kioxia America, Inc. has launched the CM10 Series, marking the company’s entry into the PCIe 6.0 enterprise solid-state drive (SSD) market with devices designed specifically for high-performance artificial intelligence workloads. The new drives utilize the company’s latest BiCS FLASH™ generation 10 TLC memory to address the growing demand for efficient Key Value (KV) cache storage in large-scale AI inference systems. By integrating direct-cold-plate liquid cooling capability, the CM10 Series aims to enhance power efficiency and thermal management for next-generation data center infrastructure.

The announcement positions the CM10 Series as a critical component for the NVIDIA CMX™ context memory storage solution, which extends effective GPU memory through a shared, pod-level context tier. As AI models scale toward trillions of parameters and agentic AI context windows expand, the need for ultra-fast flash storage to manage ephemeral KV cache has intensified. The drives are currently sampling to select customers and will be showcased at FMS: the Future of Memory and Storage, taking place August 4 – 6 in Santa Clara, Calif.

Performance and Technical Specifications

Compared to the previous KIOXIA CM9 Series SSDs, the CM10 Series delivers significant performance gains. The new drives offer up to approx. 92% higher sequential read performance and up to approx. 85% higher random read performance. These improvements are driven by the underlying 332-layer BiCS FLASH™ generation 10 technology, which enhances both speed and power efficiency.

The drives are available in E3.S, E1.S, and 2.5-inch form factors. While all form factors support traditional air-cooled environments, the E3.S and E1.S 9.5 mm variants feature cold-plate liquid cooling capability. The 2.5-inch form factor remains PCIe 5.0 compliant and utilizes BiCS FLASH™ generation 8 TLC flash memory. Security features include SIE, SED, planned SED FIPS 140-3 support, post-quantum cryptography, CNSA 2.0, and SPDM 1.4 attestation.

Strategic Implications for AI Infrastructure

The introduction of the CM10 Series reflects a shift in enterprise storage requirements driven by generative AI. Neville Ichhaporia, senior vice president and general manager of the SSD business unit at Kioxia America, Inc., stated that storage must now deliver greater efficiency and deployment flexibility alongside higher performance. The compatibility with the Open Compute Project® Datacenter NVMe SSD Specification 2.7, including support for NVMe Flexible Data Placement (FDP), ensures integration into modern data center architectures.

What the Numbers Show

The performance leap from the CM9 to the CM10 series is substantial, with nearly doubling of sequential read speeds. This metric is particularly relevant for AI inference workloads where data throughput directly impacts latency. The ability to offer these performance levels while supporting liquid cooling indicates that Kioxia is targeting high-density rack deployments where thermal constraints typically limit drive performance. The retention of PCIe 5.0 in the 2.5-inch form factor suggests a tiered approach, allowing customers to adopt PCIe 6.0 where cooling infrastructure permits, while maintaining backward compatibility for standard air-cooled servers.