ORICO Merges Local Artificial Intelligence Capabilities with NAS Appliances: Meet CyberData NAS

Data storage specialist ORICO has launched a crowdfunding campaign for a device designed to combine a high-performance network-attached storage (NAS) appliance with a host for local large language models (LLMs) and other machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML and AI) workloads: the CyberData NAS.

"The CyberData NAS supports AI-enhanced Docker containers such as DeepSeek and OpenLLaMA," the company explains of its device, "enabling advanced tasks like local language modeling, smart search, or private AI agents—run directly on your NAS device without sending data to the cloud. Our roadmap includes deploying AI-powered image classification and document sorting tools, helping users auto-organize large media libraries and archives. We will roll out AI feature updates over time via over-the-air software improvements. These will be based on user feedback and open-source innovation, keeping the experience fresh and adaptive."

There are six core models of CyberData NAS, starting with the CF500: a five-bay HAS with two M.2 slots for solid-state drives, an Intel Processor N150 with four cores running at a boost clock of up to 3.6GHz, 8GB of DDR5 expandable to 48GB, 32GB of eMMC storage, two USB 3.2 Gen. 2 10Gb/s ports and two USB 2.0 480Mb/s ports, HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4 video outputs, and a single 2.5-gigabit-Ethernet port. The CF500 Pro upgrades to the eight-core up-to-3.8GHz Intel Core N305 processor, supports up to 64GB of DDR5, and adds a 10-gigabit-Ethernet port; the CF6 has the same specifications but upgrades to 16GB of DDR5 as standard, 64GB of eMMC storage, and drops support for mechanical hard drives in favor of six M.2 slots.

The CF56 has the same processor, the same 16GB of DDR5 memory, the same 64GB of eMMC storage, but includes five hard drive bays and six M.2 slots. The CF56 Pro, though, is the lowest-level model to actually support ORICO's planned local AI features, thanks to a more powerful 12-core 16-thread Intel Core i5-1240P processor running at up to 4.4GHz, 16GB of DDR5 expandable to 96GB, a 128GB SSD, two 10-gigabit-Ethernet ports, and two USB 4.0 ports on top of two USB 3.2 Gen. 2 and two USB 2.0 ports. The display outputs also benefit from an upgrade to HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4a, both with 8k support. The CF1000 Pro, meanwhile, doubles the stock memory to 32GB of DDR5, doubles the hard drive bays to ten while dropping back to two M.2 SSD slots.

For those looking for maximum performance for running local models, ORICO also supports add-in graphics cards — not in the NAS boxes themselves, but in the GT550 or GT800 external GPU docks. These support up to an NVIDIA RTX 5060Ti/AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT or below and an NVIDIA RTX 5090 D or AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT or below respectively, connecting to the host NAS over a USB 4.0 connection with up to 40Gb/s of bandwidth. Storage expansion boxes are also available, adding five hard drives and three M.2 SSDs in the HD8 or ten hard drives in the HD10.

Regardless of model, all the NASes are designed to run ORICO's in-house operating system, dubbed the CyberData OS. "An innovative, fully self-developed operating system that combines localized intelligence, intuitive controls, and real-time updates," the company says of its software. "It supports seamless cross-platform and cross-device data collaboration, connecting apps across smartphones, computers, and TVs for a unified experience and expanded functionality. Multiple storage spaces and user permissions, end-to-end encryption and real-time intrusion blocking ensure data privacy."

The ORICO CyberData NAS range is now funding on Kickstarter, with physical rewards starting at $349 for the entry-level CyberData CF500 — a claimed 30 percent discount from the planned retail price — and with hardware expected to ship this September.