DDN, a global leader in AI and data intelligence solutions, announced on June 18, 2025, that it has secured the #1 position on the IO500 benchmark, the industry standard for real-world storage performance in AI and high-performance computing (HPC) environments. This achievement highlights DDN’s ability to deliver unmatched speed, scale, and reliability for data-intensive workloads.
DDN ranks #1 on IO500 benchmark for AI and HPC storage performance.
Delivers 3x to 11x more value than competitors like Weka and VAST.
Excels in real-world tests with mixed workloads and metadata operations.
Accelerates AI training, simulations, and analytics by up to 11x daily.
Trusted by NVIDIA, CINECA, and TGen for high-performance infrastructure.
Reduces costs and boosts efficiency in finance, genomics, and supercomputing.
The IO500 benchmark evaluates storage systems under real-world pressures, including mixed workloads, complex I/O patterns, and metadata-intensive operations. Unlike synthetic tests, it mirrors the challenges faced by AI and HPC infrastructures. DDN’s top ranking in the 10-node production category demonstrates its leadership in handling mission-critical workloads. “Being ranked #1 on the IO500 benchmark is more than a technical achievement — it’s proof that our customers can count on DDN to deliver the speed, scale, and reliability needed to turn data into competitive advantage,” said Alex Bouzari, Co-Founder and CEO of DDN.
DDN’s performance translates into significant business outcomes:
Finance: A global hedge fund tripled algorithm development speed, reducing backtest times and infrastructure costs.
Genomics: TGen researchers cut genomics pipeline analysis from 12 hours to under 2, accelerating medical breakthroughs.
Supercomputing: Organizations like CINECA and Helmholtz Munich maximize GPU efficiency with DDN, achieving lower total cost of ownership (TCO).
With DDN, data centers can perform up to 11x more AI training sessions, simulations, and analytics runs per day compared to competitors, saving millions while driving innovation.
DDN’s architecture ensures unparalleled performance:
Blistering Bandwidth: Multi-terabyte throughput proven in systems like NVIDIA’s Selene.
Metadata Performance: Manages billions of files and small I/O without compromise.
Native Parallelism: True parallel file access eliminates bottlenecks.
Pipeline-Aware Caching: Minimizes latency and GPU idle time.
Enterprise Resilience: Trusted by NVIDIA, HPE, Dell, and national defense agencies.
Competitors like Weka, VAST, and Hammerspace fall short, struggling with concurrency, write-heavy workloads, and limited IO500 deployments.
In AI and HPC, every second counts. Bottlenecks delay discovery and waste resources. DDN’s #1 IO500 ranking confirms its ability to empower organizations to lead in their fields. Explore the full results at io500.org.
DDN is the world’s leading AI and data intelligence company, empowering organizations to maximize the value of their data with end-to-end HPC and AI-focused solutions. Its customers range from the largest global enterprises and AI hyperscalers to cutting-edge research centers, all leveraging DDN’s proven data intelligence platform for scalable, secure, and high-performance AI deployments that drive 10x returns.
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