News
- Startup’s ribbon-based holographic tape promises 200TB per LTO cartridge
- The tech uses polymer film and $5 laser to write optical voxels
- Integrates into LTO systems with no upstream software or hardware changes
UK startup HoloMem is developing a holographic storage system aimed at replacing or supplementing LTO tape.
The company, founded by former Dyson engineer Charlie Gale, uses polymer ribbon cartridges written with $5 laser diodes. Each 100-meter cartridge could store up to 200TB in a write-once, read-many format.
The cartridges match LTO dimensions and work in existing tape libraries without changes to upstream software. Drives function as drop-in shelves, allowing libraries to operate in a hybrid LTO and HoloMem setup.
HO1OThe idea began at Dyson, where Gale helped create a holographic label system called HO1O. It embedded multiple QR codes in a single hologram, readable from different angles or light sources.
“What we originally did at HO1O for prototypes was to use a light-sensitive polymer material that you just exposed to laser light… it locks polymer change and retains that image,” Gale told Blocks & Files.
This concept evolved into multi-layer data storage using similar materials.
Unlike other optical approaches that use glass or ceramics, HoloMem writes data as holographic voxels into polymer film. The film uses a 16-micron thick polymer sheet laminated between PET layers, forming a 120-micron ribbon.
The prototype HoloDrive writes and reads holograms using a 3D-printed lens and a digital micromirror device.
“We are writing data pages of thousands of bits,” Gale said. Throughput hasn’t been disclosed, although it reportedly operates at LTO-9 speeds. The drive uses £30 circuit boards and modified LTO mechanics.
HoloMem has received £900,000 in UK innovation grants and is partnering with TechRe and QStar for field trials and integration testing. It holds patents for the optical engine, media design and volumetric storage method.
Blocks & Files reports: “We understand TechRe will deploy prototype Holodrives inside LTO libraries in its UK data centers to test out the product’s performance, reliability and robustness. HoloMem has written device firmware so that, we understand, it presents itself as a kind of LTO drive.”
Future capacity increases may come through multi-channel recording, using multiple light wavelengths to layer data. Each added channel could multiply storage with no hardware change.
You might also like- Only 2% of enterprises are highly ready for AI, report claims
- Fewer than one-third have deployed AI firewalls to date
- Another one in three could do with diversifying their AI models
Although more and more applications are getting AI overhauls, new F5 research had claimed only 2% of enterprises are highly ready for AI.
More than one in five (21%) fall into the low-readiness category, and while three-quarters (77%) are considered moderately ready, they continue to face security and governance hurdles.
This comes as one in four applications use AI, with many organizations splitting their AI usage across multiple models including paid models like GPT-4 and open-source models like Llama, Mistral and Gemma.
Enterprises aren't benefitting from the AI they have access toAlthough 71% of the State of AI Application Strategy Report respondents said they use AI to enhance security, F5 highlighted ongoing challenges with security and governance. Fewer than one in three (31%) have deployed AI firewalls, and only 24% perform continuous data labelling, potentially increasing risks.
Looking ahead, one in two (47%) say they plan on deploying AI firewalls in the next year. F5 also recommends that enterprises diversify AI models across paid and open-source opens, scale AI usage to operations, analytics and security, and deploy AI-specific protections like firewalls and data governance strategies.
At the moment, it's estimated that two-thirds (65%) use two or more paid models and at least one open-source model, demonstrating considerable room for improvement.
"As AI becomes core to business strategy, readiness requires more than experimentation—it demands security, scalability, and alignment," F5 CPO and CMO John Maddison explained.
The report highlights how enterprises that lack of maturity can stifle growth, introduce operational bottlenecks and present compliance challenges.
"AI is already transforming security operations, but without mature governance and purpose-built protections, enterprises risk amplifying threats," Maddison added.
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