GoKawiilSK hynix develops custom H-TPU core to offload SSD controller workloads from Arm CPUs
SK hynix has unveiled an in-house processing core called the Hynix Transaction Processing Unit (H-TPU), designed to handle routine I/O tasks in SSD controllers alongside traditional Arm CPU cores. Presented by VP Koo In-jae at ISOCC 2026, the chip reportedly uses about 2.5% of a general-purpose CPU core's power and 4% of its area, and SK hynix plans to roll it out across its NAND product lineup, including upcoming enterprise SSD controllers.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
As PCIe bandwidth doubles each generation, controller chips have scaled mainly by adding more Arm cores, an approach competitors like Marvell have taken with their Bravera controllers. SK hynix's move toward smaller, purpose-built cores suggests an alternative scaling path that could reduce power and die area pressures as drive speeds keep climbing, though its real-world performance and adoption across the industry remain to be seen.
- SK hynix introduced the H-TPU, a small in-house core meant to offload routine SSD controller tasks from Arm CPUs.
- The core reportedly uses just 2.5% of a general CPU core's power and 4% of its area.
- SK hynix plans to deploy H-TPU across its NAND products, including next-generation enterprise SSD controllers.
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Published there as: “SK hynix to place custom tiny CPU cores in its SSD controllers to ease Arm load as drive speeds rocket”
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