Imec Invests in Atlas Data Storage to Scale DNA Digital Data Storage

Key Takeaways

• Imec and Atlas Data Storage announced a strategic partnership on March 5, 2026 to accelerate digital data storage using synthetic DNA. 

• Imec is not only collaborating technically but also investing in Atlas and becoming a shareholder, signaling deeper long-term support for the platform. 

• The companies are using semiconductor-style scaling to improve DNA synthesis throughput, including a custom chip architecture designed to control millions of synthesis sites.

As global data volumes expand rapidly driven in part by artificial intelligence and large-scale digital archives, new storage technologies are drawing increasing attention. A newly announced partnership between imec and Atlas Data Storage aims to accelerate the development of DNA-based digital data storage designed for ultra-dense, long-term archival storage.

According to imec, the collaboration combines Atlas’ ASIC design and DNA synthesis technology with imec’s expertise in advanced semiconductor development, fabrication, and system integration to push DNA data storage toward higher throughput and larger-scale deployment.

Imec confirmed that it is also investing in Atlas Data Storage and becoming a shareholder, positioning the partnership as a long-term strategic effort rather than a purely experimental project. Financial terms and ownership details were not disclosed.

Scaling production efficiently would be a challenge that this new partnership faces. Imec said it co-developed and monolithically manufactured a dense nanoscale array of electrochemical cells on top of a control CMOS ASIC designed by Atlas. 

The integrated chip architecture is designed to orchestrate and control millions of individual DNA synthesis sites simultaneously, which is critical to making DNA data storage economically viable.

Atlas COO Siraj Nour ElAhmadi said DNA storage will require synthesis throughput to improve by several orders of magnitude compared with existing methods. The company’s approach relies on combining biochemical processes with large-scale silicon and CMOS integration to achieve the required scale.

Imec also highlighted several technical manufacturing challenges encountered during development. One issue involved etching platinum devices at extremely small dimensions, while another required minimizing leakage currents between neighboring devices in the dense electrochemical array. According to imec, its 300-millimeter silicon platformis an important factor in enabling the throughput and manufacturing scale needed for practical DNA-based storage.

While the concept of DNA data storage has been explored for years, a major barrier has been the ability to write digital information efficiently enough for large-scale use. Based on the companies’ statements, this partnership focuses specifically on solving that bottleneck through chip architecture, wafer processing, and advanced manufacturing workflows.

Imec’s role in the collaboration also appears to extend into practical semiconductor supply-chain coordination. The organization said IC-Link by imec is managing sourcing for Atlas custom wafers, which will undergo additional post-processing on imec’s fabrication line.

Atlas has been steadily building momentum in the emerging DNA storage sector. In May 2025, the company announced the close of a $155 million seed financing round and the acquisition of DNA data storage assets from Twist Bioscience. Atlas said its core platform combines novel semiconductor chips with enzyme engineering to enable massively parallel DNA synthesis.

Later, in December 2025, the company introduced Atlas Eon 100, which it described as the world’s first scalable DNA data storage platform.

The companies frame the opportunity around the limitations of conventional archival storage media. According to imec, traditional technologies such as magnetic tape and hard disk drives face long-term constraints related to density, durability, and energy efficiency as global data generation accelerates.

DNA storage offers a radically different model as one gram of DNA can theoretically encode hundreds of petabytes of digital data, and when properly encapsulated, DNA molecules can remain stable for thousands of years without the continuous energy and maintenance requirements associated with conventional data centers.

Atlas is primarily targeting long-term archival applications, where durability and storage density are more important than real-time access. The company identifies potential use cases including media and entertainment archives, scientific research datasets, regulated industry records, and cultural heritage preservation. These sectors often require secure storage for decades or even centuries.

Advanced semiconductor manufacturing technique such as CMOS integration, wafer-scale processing, and nanofabrication are increasingly being applied beyond traditional computing and memory applications.

In this case, those technologies are enabling a new category of ultra-long-term archival data and DNA-based archival storage is beginning to transition from laboratory research toward industrial-scale development.