HGST

HGST stands for Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, a brand of storage devices that originated as a subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd. The company was formed in 2003 when Hitachi acquired IBM's hard-disk drive business, consolidating IBM’s HDD assets with Hitachi’s storage operations to create HGST. It specialized in magnetic storage and later solid-state storage, offering a range of 2.5- and 3.5-inch hard drives, enterprise and consumer lines, and SSDs.

In 2012, Western Digital announced the acquisition of HGST for about $4.3 billion, and the deal was completed that year. HGST then became a subsidiary of Western Digital. Under WD, HGST’s product lines were retained in various forms, most notably the Ultrastar brand for enterprise HDDs and SSDs, as well as the Deskstar line for consumer desktops and the Travelstar line for laptops. The Ultrastar line continued to serve data-center and enterprise applications within WD’s portfolio.

In the years following the acquisition, Western Digital increasingly integrated HGST’s offerings into its broader storage branding while maintaining the Ultrastar designation for enterprise products. The HGST name has appeared primarily on enterprise-grade devices or legacy consumer lines, with the overall emphasis on reliability and performance within WD’s storage solutions.