storage

Because, sigh, AI

Japan’s Fujifilm has decided the tape market has so much upside that it needs to boost production of its Linear Tape-Open (LTO) products by five times.

LTO is the sole surviving non-proprietary tape format and is kept alive by HPE, IBM, and Quantum Corp, who head the LTO Program.

As The Register recently reported , shipments of LTO cartridges went backwards during 2025, when buyers shelled out for 160.3 exabytes worth of LTO compared to the record 176.5 exabytes; worth of tape cartridges sold in 2024.

The LTO program attributed the 2025 result to difficult macro-economic conditions, noted that sales picked up strongly in the second half of the year, and predicted record sales in 2026.

Fujifilm seems to agree with that optimistic outlook, as it today announced a plan to spend ¥10 billion ($64 million) over the next two years to expand a tape plant in the Japanese city of Odawara.

The company said AI has made this a sensible investment.

“The rapid spread of generative AI and…