This is the first PCIe 6.0 SSD you can actually buy and by 'you' I mean hyperscalers — Micron 9650 can reach 28GBps read speeds and will only be used for AI inference (www.techradar.com)

Micron has officially launched its 9650 NVMe SSD, marking the first commercially available PCIe 6.0 SSD targeted specifically at hyperscale AI environments. This storage solution boasts an impressive capability of up to 28GBps sequential read speeds and 14GBps write speeds, optimizing performance for AI inference tasks where quick and reliable data access is critical. While this drive is not intended for general-purpose enterprise use, it is engineered for continuous operation at scale in AI data centers that demand high throughput to maintain efficient data pipelines. The significance of the Micron 9650 lies in its ability to leverage the doubled bandwidth of PCIe 6.0, reducing CPU involvement and minimizing transfer bottlenecks between storage and accelerators. This shift is crucial as AI workloads increasingly require rapid data retrieval, particularly for processes involving retrieval-augmented generation. Furthermore, Micron emphasizes power efficiency, with the 9650 offering better performance per watt compared to its PCIe 5.0 predecessors, enabling data centers to enhance performance without exceeding existing power limits. As the drive enters mass production, it's a pivotal step forward in supporting the evolving demands of AI infrastructure.