The Serial ATA International Organization

What The Serial ATA International Organization does

The Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO) is an independent, Oregon-based 501(c)(6) non-profit standards body founded in July 2004 that develops, maintains, and promotes the Serial ATA storage interface specification. It governs the SATA standard from its headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon (executive management provided by VTM Group, Inc.), with a Board of Directors comprising representatives from promoter-level member companies including Intel, Seagate, Western Digital, Toshiba, and others. Its core deliverable is the SATA specification itself, currently at Revision 3.5a (March 2021), supporting data transfer speeds up to 6 Gb/s, alongside a portfolio of derivative specifications including eSATA, SATA microSSD, USM, M.2 card, NCQ, Port Multipliers, power management features (DevSlp, HIPM, DIPM), and SMR/ZAC support.

SATA-IO monetizes through two primary streams: recurring annual membership dues (General at $1,700/year and Contributor at $2,700/year) and one-time specification sales to non-members ($25–$95). Members additionally receive free access to specifications, participation rights in Work Groups, eligibility for board seats, and rights to use the certified SATA, eSATA, USM, and microSSD trademarks and logos. The organization runs an Interoperability Testing Program through Plugfests and Interop Workshops, supports Independent Test Labs, and maintains the Integrators List (1,477+ certified products from 100+ member companies) and Building Block List as industry reference databases. Its GTM motion is community-led: it recruits storage-industry member companies to advance the specification, while reserving specification purchase revenue as a secondary stream from non-members.

The organization serves a horizontal customer base across PC manufacturers, enterprise storage providers, consumer electronics OEMs (via USM), and embedded/automotive system makers, with stated reach across HDDs, SSDs, ODDs, and hybrid drives in client, mobile, enterprise, CE, and embedded markets. It coordinates with adjacent standards bodies including INCITS T13, PCI-SIG, SNIA, IDEMA, and the NVM Express Organization on overlapping specifications such as M.2.

Name

The Serial ATA International Organization

Legal name

Serial ATA International Organization

Website

https://sata-io.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO) is a non-profit standards body that develops, maintains, and promotes the Serial ATA storage interface specification for storage device manufacturers, PC OEMs, and consumer electronics companies worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Storage Interface Standards

NAICS

Computer Storage Device Manufacturing (334112), Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing (33411)

SIC

Computer Storage Devices (3572), Electronic Components, Nec (3679)

akta.pro primary industry

Verification IP (VIP) & Protocol Compliance Suites (HDAHAFAG)

Keywords

• Storage interface standards
• Serial ATA specification
• Interoperability testing
• Data transfer protocols
• Storage technology consortium

Headquarters

HQ city

Oregon

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Specification Sales: SATA-IO sells electronic copies of SATA specifications to non-members. The Serial ATA Revision 3.5a Specification is available for $75.00 USD, with earlier versions (3.3) available for $25.00. A combination download of all specifications (2.5 through 3.4) costs $95.00 USD. SATA-IO members receive specifications for free.
2. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees from two tiers: General Membership at $1,700/year and Contributor Membership at $2,700/year. Contributor members receive additional benefits including participation in SATA-IO Work Groups, use of collaboration tools, and eligibility for Board of Directors positions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO) develops, maintains, and licenses the Serial ATA (SATA) storage interface specification used to connect host systems to storage devices. It sells the specification to non-members, runs an Interoperability Testing Program (Plugfests), and administers a Certified Logo Program that verifies SATA-compliant products.

Product overview

The Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO) is a non-profit standards organization that develops, maintains, and promotes the Serial ATA specification for storage interface technology. The organization offers a comprehensive ecosystem of specifications including SATA Revision 3.5 (latest), along with power management, microSSD, USM, M.2 card, and eSATA standards. SATA-IO provides interoperability testing programs and certification services through its Certified Logo Program and maintains the Integrators List and Building Block List directories of compliant products. The organization serves member companies across the storage industry including HDDs, SSDs, optical drives, and embedded storage manufacturers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SATA Specification

Quantifiable outcome

• SMR technology extends HDD capacity up to 25 percent
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• INCITS T13coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerINCITS T13 is the ATA standards committee. SATA-IO maintains an industry liaison relationship with INCITS T13, which specifies the ATA-ATAPI Command Set including power management within SATA devices. T13 developed ZAC (Zoned Device ATA Command Set) for SMR support.
• AHCI SpecificationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvanced Host Controller Interface for SATA - a hardware register-level interface for SATA controllers. SATA-IO maintains liaison with Intel on AHCI specification development.
• IDEMAsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry association establishing standards for HDDs including the 4KB sector format for SATA drives. SATA-IO coordinates with IDEMA on storage industry standards.
• PCI-SIGsecondaryTechnology or IntegrationPCI-SIG defines the M.2 specification (formerly NGFF) which incorporates SATA interface support. SATA-IO coordinates on M.2 card specifications that support SATA applications alongside PCIe.
• SNIA Solid State Storage InitiativesecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerSNIA collaborates with SATA-IO on solid state storage standards. SATA-IO and SNIA jointly hosted the 'All About M.2 SSDs' webcast. SNIA provides additional resources on SMR and other storage technologies referenced by SATA-IO.
• NVM Express OrganizationsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerNVM Express Organization collaborates with SATA-IO on M.2 SSD standards. The organizations jointly hosted the 'All About M.2 SSDs' webcast covering both SATA and NVMe interfaces for M.2 form factors.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Strengths4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SATA_IO

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Serial ATA International Organization