History
DSI was established in April 1997 through the expansion of the Magnetics Technology Centre (MTC), founded in June 1992 by the Agency for Science, Technology & Research, or A*STAR (then known as the National Science & Technology Board) and the National University of Singapore (NUS).
DSI's purpose was to undertake R&D in magnetics technology for hard disk drives (HDDs). Over the years, DSI collaborated with companies such as Seagate, Connor, DEC, Toshiba, Hewlett-Packard and Western Digital.
On 1 June 2018, A*STAR announced its decision to redeploy DSI's renowned capabilities across the organisation in alignment with national research and innovation strategies, and that DSI would no longer function as an independent research unit in A*STAR. The organisation cited the impact of global trends on the data storage industry, resulting in consolidation and much of production happening outside Singapore.
