Seagate Releases AI-Powered Custom FireCuda Forge Storage

Seagate has announced the FireCuda Forge external storage drive. The device combines a hard drive's capacity with an SSD's speed in a single enclosure, powered by Seagate's new Alkemi intelligent platform.

Customization and Design

Unlike other hybrid drives, FireCuda Forge offers users freedom of component choice. The storage device comes with an 8 TB or 20 TB HDD that can be replaced if necessary. However, users must purchase and install the fast M.2 2280 SSD themselves.

For proper operation, a drive with a capacity of up to 1 TB is required, featuring read speeds of at least 2400 MB/s and write speeds of at least 2000 MB/s (preferably with DRAM cache).

Smart Data Management with Alkemi

The key feature of the new product is the Alkemi platform technology based on machine learning. It continuously analyzes file usage patterns and automatically moves the most frequently accessed data to the fast SSD. Despite having two physical drives inside, the operating system sees the device as a single logical drive.

Speed, Interface, and Price

Claimed sequential read speeds reach up to 2500 MB/s, and write speeds reach up to 2000 MB/s. The device connects via a modern USB4 interface, is compatible with Windows 11 and macOS 26+, and features customizable RGB lighting for gamers and content creators.

The 8 TB model is priced at $699, while the 20 TB version will cost $899. Keep in mind that a compatible NVMe SSD is not included and will require an additional purchase.