DDN Tops IO500 Benchmark for Real-World AI and HPC Storage Performance 

CHATSWORTH, Calif., June 18, 2025 -- DDN today announced it has achieved the top ranking on the IO500 benchmark, the industry standard for measuring real-world storage performance in AI and HPC.

IO500 isn’t just another benchmark—it’s the gold standard for assessing real-world storage performance in AI and HPC environments. It plays a critical role in helping organizations determine which technologies to deploy and which vendors to trust.

Unlike synthetic benchmarks that simulate hypothetical conditions, IO500 tests systems under real-world pressures—mixed workloads, complex I/O patterns, metadata-intensive operations, and concurrent tasks—exactly the kinds of challenges AI and HPC infrastructures face every day. The result? Clear, credible insights into how your infrastructure will perform when performance matters most.

“AI is transforming every industry, and the organizations leading that transformation are the ones that understand infrastructure performance is not optional — it’s mission-critical,” said Alex Bouzari, Co-Founder and CEO of DDN. “Being ranked number one 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. DDN is not just ahead. We have left the competition behind.”

In the critical 10-node production category—where real-world AI workloads operate under intense pressure and where the majority of customer use cases live—DDN isn’t just ahead of the competition; it’s setting a new industry standard. This leadership translates directly into tangible value for organizations: accelerating innovation, enabling the creation of superior products and services, and expanding the boundaries of what’s possible with AI and HPC.

DDN's storage systems can enable up to 11 times more daily AI training runs, simulations, and analytics workflows compared to systems from Weka or VAST, potentially improving infrastructure efficiency and reducing operational costs.

AI and HPC cannot tolerate slowdowns—every minute of wasted compute time drains both budget and innovation momentum. Topping the IO500 rankings proves DDN delivers exceptional end-to-end performance that translates into real business benefits:

• Finance: A global hedge fund accelerated algorithm development 3x, reducing backtest time and cutting infrastructure costs significantly.
• Genomics: Researchers at TGen reduced genomics pipeline analysis from 12 hours to under 2, enabling faster, more cost-effective medical breakthroughs.
• Supercomputing: Leaders like CINECA, Helmholtz Munich, and Bitdeer AI maximize GPU efficiency and throughput with DDN, achieving higher utilization and lower TCO.

In AI and HPC, every second of compute time matters. Bottlenecks don’t just slow you down—they delay discovery, reduce ROI, and waste GPU resources. DDN’s top result in the IO500 is not just a benchmark—it’s proof that DDN customers are leading the future.

Explore the full IO500 results: https://io500.org.

Read DDN's latest blog: AI and HPC Workloads Demand Highest Performance Data – DDN is the Undisputed Leader on IO500.

About DDN

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.

Source: DDN