# List of defunct hard disk manufacturers

At least 218 companies have manufactured hard disk drives (HDDs) since 1956. Most of that industry has vanished through bankruptcy or mergers and acquisitions. None of the first several entrants (including IBM, who invented the HDD) continue in the industry today. Only three manufacturers have survived—Seagate, Toshiba and Western Digital (WD)—all of which grew at least in part through mergers and acquisitions.

## Manufacturers

The following is a partial list of defunct hard disk manufacturers. There are currently 119 manufacturers in this incomplete list.
| Name | Country of origin | Year of market entry | Year of market exit | Fate | Notes | References |
| 3M | United States | 1981 | 1983 | HDD assets sold to Disc Tech One | | |
| Alps Electric | Japan | ? | 2008 | HDD assets sold to TDK | | |
| Amcodyne | United States | 1983 | 1986 | Acquired by Century Data Systems | | |
| Ampex | United States | 1970 | ? | ? | | |
| Anelex Corporation | United States | 1964 | 1967 | Acquired by Mohawk Data Sciences | | |
| Areal Technology | United States | 1987 | 1999 | Acquired by Tomen Electronics and Sanyo in 1993, dissolved in 1998 | Manufactured the first HDDs employing glass as the substrate for their platters | |
| Atasi Corporation | United States | 1982 | 1987 | Acquired by Tandon then Western Digital in 1987 | Considered a pioneer in the industry but had financial struggles throughout its lifetime | |
| Aura Associates | United States | 1992 | ? | ? | | |
| Avatar Systems | United States | 1991 | 1998 | Bankruptcy | | |
| BASF | Germany | 1970 | 1982 | HDD assets sold to Kennedy Company | | |
| Brand Technologies | United States | 1986 | ? | ? | | |
| Bryant Computer Products | United States | 1959 | 1972 | Dissolution | Renamed to XLO Computer Products in 1972 | |
| Bull Peripheral | United States | 1984 | 1989 | Acquired by Seagate Technology | American subsidiary of CII-Honeywell-Bull | |
| Burroughs | United States | 1964 | ? | ? | | |
| C. Itoh | Japan | 1985 | ? | ? | | |
| Castlewood Systems | United States | 1999 | 2004 | Bankruptcy | | |
| Caelus Memories | United States | 1967 | 1969 | Acquired by Electronic Memories & Magnetics | | |
| Calcomp | United States | 1972 | 1979 | HDD assets sold to Xerox | | |
| Calluna Technology | Scotland | 1992 | 2001 | Dissolution | | |
| Cardiff Peripherals | United States | 1987 | ? | ? | | |
| Century Data Systems | United States | 1968 | 1972 | Acquired by CalComp in 1972; later sold to Xerox in 1979 | | |
| CII-Honeywell-Bull | France | 1975 | 1989 | HDD business acquired by Seagate Technology | Resold drives through partnership with Magnetic Peripherals; CII-Honeywell-Bull was itself a joint venture between Compagnie Internationale d'Informatique, Honeywell, and Groupe Bull | |
| Cogito Systems | United States | 1983 | 1985 | Dissolution | | |
| Comport | United States | 1988 | 1991 | Dissolution | | |
| Computer Memories, Inc. | United States | 1979 | 1986 | Exited the HDD business | | |
| Computer Memory Devices | United States | 1969 | 1971 | Dissolution | | |
| Conner Peripherals | United States | 1985 | 1996 | Acquired by Seagate Technology | | |
| Cornice | United States | 2000 | 2007 | Dissolution | | |
| Data Disc | United States | 1962 | 1977 | Acquired by Datapoint | | |
| Data General | United States | 1976 | 1989 | ? | | |
| Datapoint | United States | 1977 | 1984 | HDD assets sold to Xebec Corporation | | |
| Dataproducts | United States | 1962 | ? | Exited the HDD business | | |
| Data Recording Instrument | United Kingdom | 1970 | 1988 | Acquired by FKI | First company to manufacture HDDs in Europe | $^{:289}$ |
| Data-Tech Memories | United States | 1986 | 1989 | Dissolution | | $^{:133}$ |
| Diablo Systems | United States | 1969 | 1972 | Acquired by Xerox | | |
| Digital Equipment Corporation | United States | 1969 | 1993 | Exited the HDD business | | |
| Disc Tech One | United States | 1983 | 1984 | Acquired by Life Tech Industries | | |
| Disctron | United States | 1982 | 1983 | Dissolution | Spin-off of Computer & Communications Technology | |
| DMA Systems | United States | 1981 | 1985 | Dissolution | | |
| DZU AD | Bulgaria | 1968 | 1999 | Dissolution | Originally a state-owned entity, later converted to private company; HDD assets dispersed between 1997 and 1999 | $^{:289}$ |
| Ecol. 2 | United States | 1990 | 1993 | Dissolution | Never produced any drives beyond prototypes | |
| Electronic Memories & Magnetics | United States | 1969 | 1985 | Acquired by Titan Systems | | |
| Emulex | United States | 1979 | 1992 | HDD assets spun off as QLogic | | |
| Epson | Japan | 1985 | 1987 | Left the HDD business | | |
| Espert | South Korea | 1990 | ? | Dissolution | | |
| ExcelStor Technology | China | 2000 | 2008 | Dissolution | | |
| Fuji Electric | Japan | 1985 | 2011 | Exited the HDD business | | |
| Fujitsu | Japan | 1963 | 2009 | HDD assets sold to Toshiba | | |
| General Electric | United States | 1962 | 1970 | HDD assets sold to Honeywell | | |
| GS Magicstor | China | 2003 | ? | Dissolution | | |
| Hewlett-Packard | United States | 1979 | 1996 | Exited the HDD business | Manufactured the first 1.3-inch HDDs | |
| HGST | United States | 2003 | 2018 | Acquired by Western Digital | Hitachi's HDD business after acquiring IBM's HDD assets | |
| Hitachi | United States | 1967 | 2018 | HDD assets sold to Western Digital | | |
| Hokushin Electric Works | Japan | 1980 | ? | ? | | $^{:289}$ |
| Hyosung | South Korea | ? | ? | ? | | $^{:138}$ |
| IBM | United States | 1956 | 2003 | HDD assets sold to Hitachi | Inventors of the HDD; HDD assets briefly spun off to AdStar between 1992 and 1995 | |
| Imprimis (CDC) | United States | 1975 | 1989 | Acquired by Seagate Technology | Joint venture between Control Data and CII-Honeywell-Bull; Internally known as Magnetic Peripherals, Inc | |
| Information Storage Systems | United States | 1969 | 1973 | Acquired by Itel Corporation; later sold to Sperry Univac | | |
| Intégral Peripherals | United States | 1990 | 1998 | Acquired by H&Q Asia Pacific | Manufactured the first 1.8-inch HDDs | |
| International Memories | United States | 1977 | 1984 | Merged with Onyx Systems to become Dorado Micro Systems, later Onyx-IMI; left the HDD business in 1984; HDD business sold to Fujhin Electronic Computer Co. in 1985 | | |
| Iomec | United States | 1969 | 1975 | Acquired by Data 100 | | |
| Iomega | United States | 1995 | 2008 | Acquired by EMC Corporation | | |
| ИЗОТ [ru] (English: ISOT) | Bulgaria | 1962 | 1991 | Dissolution | State-owned entity | |
| Josephine County Technology | United States | 1984 | 1986 | Dissolution | | |
| JT Storage | United States | 1994 | 1999 | Dissolution | | |
| JVC | Japan | 1986 | ? | ? | | |
| Kalok | United States | 1987 | 1994 | Acquired by JT Storage | | |
| Kennedy | United States | 1977 | 1988 | Dissolution | | |
| Kyocera | Japan | 1984 | 1991 | Exited the HDD business | | |
| LaPine Technologies | United States | 1984 | 1987 | Bankruptcy | | |
| Librascope | United States | 1961 | 1968 | Acquired by Singer Corporation | | |
| Marshall Laboratories | United States | 1968 | 1969 | Dissolution | | |
| Matsushita | Japan | 1989 | 2000 ca. | Exited the HDD business | Originally as a licensee of Quantum | |
| Maxtor | United States | 1982 | 2006 | Acquired by Seagate Technology | | |
| Memorex | United States | 1968 | 1981 | Acquired by Burroughs Corporation; HDD assets later sold to Toshiba | Manufactured the first HDD subsystems that were plug-compatible with IBM's | |
| Microcomputer Memories | United States | 1983 | 1986 | Bankruptcy | | |
| Micropolis | United States | 1986 | 1996 | HDD assets sold to Singapore Technology | | |
| Microscience International | United States | 1982 | 1993 | Bankruptcy | | |
| MiniScribe | United States | 1980 | 1990 | Acquired by Maxtor | | |
| MiniStor Peripherals | United States | 1991 | 1995 | Bankruptcy | Manufactured the first PC Card HDDs | |
| Mitsubishi | Japan | 1968 | 2002 | HDD assets sold to Showa Denko | | |
| Mitsumi Electric | Japan | ? | ? | ? | | |
| NCR | United States | 1964 | ? | ? | | |
| NEC | Japan | 1965 | 2002 | Exited the HDD business | | |
| Newbury Data | United Kingdom | 1984 | 1988 | Acquired by FKI | | |
| Nippon Electric Industry | Japan | 1983 | ? | ? | | |
| Nippon Peripherals | Japan | 1971 | 1986 | Dissolution | | |
| Nomaï | France | 1992 | 1998 | Acquired by Iomega | | |
| Ohio Scientific | United States | 1980 | 1980 | Acquired by M/A-COM | | |
| Okidata | Japan | 1973 | 1980 | HDD business acquired by Ohio Scientific | | |
| Olivetti OPE | Italy | 1981 | ? | Left the HDD business | | |
| Orca Technology | United States | 1990 | 1992 | Bankruptcy; HDD assets sold to Samsung Electronics in 1995 | | |
| Otari | Japan | 1985 | ? | Exited the HDD business | | |
| Pertec Computer | United States | 1971 | 1987 | Acquired by Triumph-Adler | | |
| Philips | Netherlands | ? | ? | ? | | $^{:289}$ |
| Plus Development | United States | 1983 | 1993 | Dissolution | Inventors of the hardcard | |
| Potter Instrument | United States | 1968 | 1975 | Bankruptcy | | |
| PrairieTek | United States | 1985 | 1991 | Bankruptcy | Manufactured the first 2.5-inch HDDs | |
| Priam | United States | 1978 | 1991 | HDD assets sold to Prima International | | |
| Peripheral Technology | United States | 1985 | 1990 | Dissolution | | |
| Quantum | United States | 1980 | 2000 | HDD assets sold to Maxtor | | |
| Ricoh | Japan | 1985 | ? | Exited the HDD business | | |
| Rodime | Scotland | 1979 | 1991 | Exited the HDD business | Manufactured the first 3.5-inch HDDs | |
| Rotating Memory Systems | United States | 1981 | 1982 | Acquired by Computer & Communications Technology | | |
| SAGEM | France | ? | ? | Exited the HDD business | | |
| Samsung Electronics | South Korea | 1988 | 2011 | HDD assets sold to Seagate Technology | | |
| Sequel | United States | 1989 | 1991 | Bankruptcy | Spin-off of Memorex's HDD business after the latter was acquired by Unisys | |
| Shugart Associates | United States | 1979 | 1985 | Acquired by Xerox in 1977; assets liquidated in 1985 | | |
| Siemens | Germany | ? | ? | ? | | $^{:289}$ |
| Storage Technology Corporation | United States | 1969 | 2005 | Acquired by Sun Microsystems | | |
| SyQuest Technology | United States | 1982 | 1999 | HDD assets sold to Iomega | | |
| Tandon | United States | 1981 | 1988 | HDD assets sold to Western Digital | | |
| TEAC | Japan | ? | ? | ? | | |
| Texas Instruments | United States | 1981 | ? | Exited the HDD business | First company to second-source Seagate's ST-506, the first 5.25-inch HDD | |
| Tokico | Japan | ? | ? | ? | | $^{:166}$ |
| Tulin | United States | 1982 | 1991 | Dissolution | | |
| Vertex Peripherals | United States | 1982 | 1985 | Acquired by Priam Corporation | | |
| Xebec | United States | 1974 | ? | ? | Originally named Microcomputer Systems Corporation; 1410 SCSI controller formed the basis of IBM PC's hard disk controller | |
| YE-Data | Japan | ? | 1995 | Exited the HDD business | | $^{:169–170}$ |