-- Ten Additional Technology Leaders Join
Founding Members to Together Advance Industry Roadmap, Set Stage
for Widespread Adoption of New Long-term Storage Option --
-- Announcement at Flash Memory Summit --
Twist Bioscience Corporation (NASDAQ: TWST), Illumina, Inc.
(NASDAQ: ILMN) and Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC) today announced
the formation of an alliance with Microsoft to advance the field of
DNA data storage. These founding companies, alongside member
organizations, will work together to create a comprehensive
industry roadmap that will help the industry achieve
interoperability between solutions and help establish the
foundations for a cost-effective commercial archival storage
ecosystem for the explosive growth of digital data.
“DNA is an incredible molecule that, by its very nature,
provides ultra-high-density storage for thousands of years,” said
Emily M. Leproust, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Twist Bioscience.
“By joining with other technology leaders to develop a common
framework for commercial implementation, we drive a shared vision
to build this new market solution for digital storage.”
DNA data storage has the potential to deliver a true low-cost
archival data storage solution. While current storage technologies
have limited longevity and require data migration for long-term
data storage, DNA provides a stable format storage medium that is
durable for thousands of years when properly stored. In addition,
DNA enables cost effective and rapid duplication. Importantly, it
is incredibly dense, with 10 full length digital movies fitting
into a volume the size of a single grain of salt. Digital data
stored in DNA can be stored in a variety of containers including
capsules, pellets or encased in glass beads.
“At Microsoft Research, we proactively address the future
challenges of technology, with sustainability in mind,” commented
Karin Strauss, Ph.D., senior principal research manager at
Microsoft. “In collaboration with University of Washington, we have
demonstrated a fully automated end-to-end system capable of storing
and retrieving data from DNA, and we have separately stored 1GB of
data in DNA synthesized by Twist and recovered data from it. We’re
encouraged by the potential for more sustainable data storage with
DNA and look forward to collaborating with others in the industry
to explore early commercialization of this technology.”
By 2024, 30% of digital businesses will mandate DNA storage
trials, addressing the exponential growth of data poised to
overwhelm existing storage technology.1
“There is an unmet need for a new long-term archival storage
medium that keeps up with the rate of digital data growth,” said
Steffen Hellmold, vice president corporate strategic initiatives,
Western Digital. “We estimate that almost half of the data storage
solutions shipped in 2030 will be used to archive data as the
overall temperature of data is cooling down. We are committed to
providing a full portfolio of storage solutions addressing the
demand for hot, warm and cold storage.”
“A key component of a DNA data storage system is its ability to
read back the digital information when needed,” stated Alex
Aravanis, M.D., Ph.D., chief technology officer at Illumina. “We
believe Illumina’s innovative sequencing technology will be
critical in enabling this market at commercial scale and look
forward to collaborating with other leaders in their respective
fields to make this a viable, long-term solution for archival
storage.”
Twist Bioscience, Illumina, Western Digital and Microsoft are
joining the Alliance as founding members. In addition to developing
an industry roadmap, the DNA Data Storage Alliance plans to develop
use cases in various markets and industries as well as promote and
educate the larger storage community to promote adoption of this
future solution. The following organizations have joined the
alliance as members:
- Ansa Biotechnologies
- CATALOG
- The Claude Nobs Foundation (Montreux Jazz Digital Project)
- DNA Script
- EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) – Cultural
Heritage & Innovation Center (Montreux Jazz Digital
Project)
- ETH Zurich - The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in
Zurich, Switzerland
- imec
- Iridia
- Molecular Assemblies
- Molecular Information Systems Lab at the University of
Washington
The Alliance welcomes additional participation from
organizations within DNA and data storage industries that would
like to contribute to this emerging ecosystem.
How to Store Digital Data in DNA
To store data in DNA, first, a data file is converted from its
digital sequence of 0’s and 1’s into a DNA sequence of A’s, C’s,
T’s and G’s. The DNA data file is then synthesized (“written”) in
short segments of DNA (200 to 300 bases long) and stored. In
addition to storing part of the data file, each short segment
contains an index to indicate its place within the overall data
file. To retrieve the data, the segments are sequenced (“read”) and
then decoded back into the original file. One feature of the
indexing system is it allows part of the file to be biologically
recovered (“random access”) before sequencing, so only data of
interest is sequenced. In addition, all data is recovered
error-free because error-correcting algorithms are used during the
encode/decode process. For a short video of the process watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTnJWxCO3M4.
About Illumina
Illumina is improving human health by unlocking the power of the
genome. Our focus on innovation has established us as the global
leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, serving
customers in the research, clinical and applied markets. Our
products are used for applications in the life sciences, oncology,
reproductive health, agriculture and other emerging segments. To
learn more, visit www.illumina.com and connect with us on Twitter,
Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Western Digital
Western Digital creates environments for data to thrive. As a
leader in data infrastructure, the company is driving the
innovation needed to help customers capture, preserve, access and
transform an ever-increasing diversity of data. Everywhere data
lives, from advanced data centers to mobile sensors to personal
devices, our industry-leading solutions deliver the possibilities
of data. Our data-centric solutions are comprised of the Western
Digital®, G-Technology™, SanDisk®, and WD® brands.
About Twist Bioscience Corporation
Twist Bioscience is a leading and rapidly growing synthetic
biology and genomics company that has developed a disruptive DNA
synthesis platform to industrialize the engineering of biology. The
core of the platform is a proprietary technology that pioneers a
new method of manufacturing synthetic DNA by “writing” DNA on a
silicon chip. Twist is leveraging its unique technology to
manufacture a broad range of synthetic DNA-based products,
including synthetic genes, tools for next-generation sequencing
(NGS) preparation, and antibody libraries for drug discovery and
development. Twist is also pursuing longer-term opportunities in
digital data storage in DNA and biologics drug discovery. Twist
makes products for use across many industries including healthcare,
industrial chemicals, agriculture and academic research.
Follow us on Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | YouTube
Legal Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. All
statements other than statements of historical facts contained
herein, including without limitation, the ability of the Alliance
to advance DNA data storage, are forward-looking statements
reflecting the current beliefs and expectations of management made
pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important
factors that may cause Twist Bioscience’s actual results,
performance, or achievements to be materially different from any
future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied
by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties
include, among others, the risks and uncertainties of the ability
to attract new customers and retain and grow sales from existing
customers; risks and uncertainties of rapidly changing technologies
and extensive competition in synthetic biology could make the
products Twist Bioscience is developing obsolete or
non-competitive; scientific unknowns and new information relating
to the SARS-CoV-2 virus; the duration, extent and impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic; supply chain and other disruptions caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise; uncertainties of the retention of a
significant customer; risks of third party claims alleging
infringement of patents and proprietary rights or seeking to
invalidate Twist Bioscience’s patents or proprietary rights; and
the risk that Twist Bioscience’s proprietary rights may be
insufficient to protect its technologies. For a further description
of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as
well as risks relating to Twist Bioscience’s business in general,
see Twist Bioscience’s risk factors set forth in Twist Bioscience’s
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission on August 12, 2020. Any forward-looking
statements contained in this press release speak only as of the
date hereof, and Twist Bioscience specifically disclaims any
obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Western Digital Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements,
including expectations regarding the future applications, advances
and success of DNA data storage and Western Digital's expectations
regarding its portfolio of storage solutions. There are a number of
risks and uncertainties that may cause these forward-looking
statements to be inaccurate including, among others: future
responses to and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic; volatility in
global economic conditions; impact of business and market
conditions; impact of competitive products and pricing; our
development and introduction of products based on new technologies
and expansion into new data storage markets; risks associated with
cost saving initiatives, restructurings, acquisitions,
divestitures, mergers, joint ventures and our strategic
relationships; difficulties or delays in manufacturing or other
supply chain disruptions; hiring and retention of key employees;
our high level of debt and other financial obligations; changes to
our relationships with key customers; disruptions in operations
from cyberattacks or other system security risks; actions by
competitors; risks associated with compliance with changing legal
and regulatory requirements and the outcome of legal proceedings;
and other risks and uncertainties listed in Western Digital's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”),
including Western Digital's Form 10-K filed with the SEC on August
28, 2020, to which your attention is directed. You should not place
undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak
only as of the date hereof, and Western Digital undertakes no
obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect
subsequent events or circumstances.
1Gartner Press Release, “Gartner Unveils Top Predictions for IT
Organizations and Users in 2021 and Beyond”, October 21, 2020
https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2020-10-21-gartner-unveils-top-predictions-for-it-organizations-and-users-in-2021-and-beyond
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201112005759/en/
Contacts for Twist Bioscience: Investor Contact: Argot
Partners Maeve Conneighton 212-600-1902 maeve@argotpartners.com
Media Contact: Angela Bitting 925- 202-6211
media@twistbioscience.com
Contacts for Western Digital Media Contact: Lisa Neitzel
1-408-717-7607 lisa.neitzel@wdc.com
Investor Contact: T. Peter Andrew +1-949-672-9655
peter.andrew@wdc.com investor@wdc.com
Contact for Illumina: Dr. Karen Birmingham 1-646-355-2111
kbirmingham@illumina.com
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