Stealthy Start-Up L2 Drive

We just discovered a new storage-start-up, L2 Drive, Inc., founded in 2017 and based in Irvine, CA.

The new company is currently operating in stealth mode and got half million dollar in seed funding.

There is about nothing on its web site but this phrase: “Next Generation Disk Drive Technology.”

What can it be? The only information comes from patents (see below) about active control of R/W head for reduced head-media spacing. “The system replaces the conventional an air bearing surface (ABS) design with a fully active suspension to maintain the head flying height within the desired range,” according to the patent. Another one is about “apparatus, systems and processes for reducing a hard disk drive’s access time and concomitant power optimization.”

They are assigned to Karim Kaddeche, president of the start-up, US citizen originated from Tunisia. John C. Wang is another name involved in the start-up, as COO. They both come from a software firm.

Kaddeche told us that the company assigned twelve patents and that the technology could increase by 30% the HDD capacity into a completely closed device – like what is used with helium –  but based here on PMR and tomorrow HAMR.

“Today you can add more disk to increase the capacity but we are reaching a limit,” he said.

But he thinks that some big buyers of HDDs like Google or Amazon could be interested to get higher archiving capacity in a drive with an height superior as it is in a standard 3.5-inch form factor.

It’s surprising to see a company entering into HDD technology and not being already a manufacturer of these rotating devices or components (disks or heads). In any case L2 Drive will have probably to negotiate with one of them to license its technology in a big market but now regularly slowing.

Read also:
L2 Drive Assigned Patent
Active control of R/W head for reduced head-media spacing
2017.09.05 | In Brief