Silicon Motion: PCIe Gen6 Controllers Tape-Out Imminent, Gen7 Internal Samples in 2H27

Silicon Motion has recently unveiled its latest technology roadmap for enterprise-grade SSD controllers. According to Alex Chou, SVP of SMI Enterprise Storage & Display Interface Solutions Business Unit, the company's PCIe Gen6 enterprise SSD controller is about to tape-out very soon while PCIe Gen7 development has already started.

PCIe Gen5 Ramping Up Production, Enterprise-Grade Shipments to Grow Significantly in 2H26

Silicon Motion invested heavily in PCIe Gen5, Gen6, and Gen7 enterprise SSD controllers. Currently, Gen5 products are beginning to ramp into volume production with multiple OEM customers. 

The company has only recently begun shipping enterprise products in volume. They are still in the early stages of our ramp, but they are making good progress with several key customers. Enterprise shipments are expected to increase significantly in the second half of the year. 

In the long term, SMI's goal is to exceed 10% market share in the $4B enterprise SSD controller market, but this year is really about getting through qualification, customer testing, and the early production ramp in 2 half of this year. As deployments grow, the market share are expected to increase meaningfully.

PCIe Gen6 On the Way, First Silicon Back Expected in 2H26

According to Alex Chou, the design of the PCIe Gen6 controllers has been essentially completed, and they have an FPGA. The tape-out is expected to finish very soon the first silicon back is expected in the second half of 2026 if everything goes well. This generation not only delivers higher bandwidth but also aligns with new functional requirements from AI infrastructure and hyperscale customers, including OCP 2.7 standard support, security enhancements, and quality-of-service optimizations.

PCIe Gen7 Develops Underway, Internal Samples Launched in 2H27

Alex Chou said that PCIe Gen7 development has already started. In fact, the overall architecture for their Gen7 enterprise controller platform has already been defined. That means they are not just planning the interface speed increase, but also defining the surrounding architecture, feature set, and deployment model that will be needed in the next generation of enterprise and AI systems.

It is said that the current plan is to have internal samples in 2H, 2027 and to move toward production in that same general timeframe.