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SPhotonix has announced plans to pilot its 5D Memory Crystal technology in data centers within two years, moving from laboratory development to real-world deployment. The UK start-up, founded in 2024 from University of Southampton research, has secured external funding for this initiative.

The technology utilizes a fused silica glass disc, capable of storing 360 terabytes of data through femtosecond laser-encoded nanoscale structures across five dimensions. The medium is designed for stability over 13.8 billion years, the estimated age of the universe.

Current prototypes achieve write speeds of 4 MBps and read speeds of 30 MBps, with a roadmap aiming for 500 MBps in three to four years. SPhotonix focuses on licensing its media for integration into existing data center architectures, differentiating itself from competitors like Microsoft’s Project Silica.