Ultra long term storage company Cerabyte has secured investment from In-Q-Tel, a venture firm funded by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Announced this week, terms were not shared.
The startup is developing a ceramic storage system it says can last more than 5,000 years. The company deposits a ceramic nanolayer on a thin substrate, using laser pulses to write data on the layer. It previously said it aimed to launch a 1PB rack demo system in 2024, a 5PB per rack system by 2025, and as much as 100PB per rack in 2028-30.
“As the world enters the age of AI and the use of digital information becomes unprecedentedly versatile and volatile, the need for permanent, immutable records has never been greater,” said Christian Pflaum, co-founder and CEO of Cerabyte. “The strategic partnership with IQT validates our mission and fuels our ability to deliver accessible permanent data storage solutions.”
“Cerabyte’s innovative technology can significantly enhance storage longevity and reliability while also reducing long-term costs and complexity,” added Greg Shipley, managing director, IQT Munich. “This strategic partnership aligns with our mission to deliver advanced technologies that meet the needs of the national security community.”
Founded in 1999 by a former CEO of Lockheed Martin, In-Q-Tel invests in companies that serve US national security interests, with a focus on technologies that help intelligence agencies such as the CIA and FBI.
Other technology companies funded by In-Q-Tel include quantum computing firms D-Wave, IonQ, Infleqtion, and Xanadu; liquid cooling firm JetCool; containerized data center company Armada; storage firm NetApp; and OT security firm Nozomi.
According to Crunchbase, Cerabyte has raised around $7.7 million to date. It has previously secured funding from Pure Storage and the European Union’s EIC Accelerator.
Cerabyte was previously one of two projects highlighted by the US National Academy of Sciences as potentially alleviating a coming data storage crunch.
Alongside it was Microsoft's Project Silica, which instead uses lasers to embed data within silica glass. DCD profiled that technology in a previous magazine, with the feature itself set to last 10,000 years.
