Key Highlights

  • Seagate (NASDAQ:STX) said its Mozaic HAMR drives with SMR are the first and only SMR drives on Broadcom's HBA approved vendor list.
  • Microsoft Azure Storage completed qualification of the Broadcom HBA with Seagate HAMR plus SMR technology.
  • The announcement targets deployment of large hard drive fleets in AI and cloud data centers.
  • No financial terms or shipment figures were disclosed.

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) announced on 26 October 2026 an interoperability milestone for its high-capacity storage. Seagate Mozaic drives, based on heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) and configured with shingled magnetic recording (SMR), are the first and only SMR drives added to Broadcom's approved vendor list for its host bus adapter (HBA).

The Interoperability Milestone

An HBA connects servers to storage and lets data centers deploy and manage large fleets of hard drives. Seagate said Microsoft Azure Storage has completed qualification of the Broadcom HBA with Seagate HAMR plus SMR technology, offering what the company calls a real-world proof point at hyperscale. The announcement is aimed at simplifying how customers expand high-capacity storage as AI and cloud workloads increase data volumes.

Technology Background and Statements

Seagate's Mozaic platform uses HAMR to raise storage density and drive capacity. Mozaic drives can also be configured with SMR, which organizes data tracks more densely to increase usable capacity for suitable workloads. Jason Feist, Seagate's senior vice president for cloud business, said pairing HAMR plus SMR with Broadcom's connectivity makes high-capacity SMR more accessible and easier to deploy.

Broadcom's Jas Tremblay said wider HBA support gives more customers a path to integrate and manage fleets of high-capacity drives. Microsoft's Pablo Ziperovich said the joint validation shows the technologies can work together across large deployments and enable greater storage density at a similar cost and power envelope.

Seagate describes itself as a provider of mass-capacity data storage whose portfolio serves hyperscale cloud providers, enterprises and consumers. The release explains that AI and cloud workloads are driving continued data growth and increasing the need for storage infrastructure that scales efficiently, which includes connecting, managing and scaling large fleets of hard drives.

Why This Could Matter

The announcement concerns compatibility rather than a new product: inclusion on an adapter vendor list and an Azure qualification remove an integration step for customers who want to use SMR drives with that adapter. Seagate did not disclose shipments, customers beyond Microsoft Azure or revenue effects.

The interoperability announcement involves three parties: Seagate as drive supplier, Broadcom as adapter supplier and Microsoft Azure as the qualifying hyperscale customer. The release's description of the benefit is greater storage density at a similar cost and power envelope, as stated by Microsoft.

The Bottom Line

Seagate's HAMR-based SMR drives now appear on Broadcom's HBA approved vendor list, and Microsoft Azure has qualified the configuration, according to the company.