New QR codes smaller than bacteria could let data last forever

• QR codes with 49-nanometer pixels can store massive data efficiently
• Electron microscopes are required to read these tiniest ever QR codes
• A single A4 ceramic layer could theoretically hold more than 2TB

The promise of storage that lasts indefinitely and consumes no power sounds almost implausible in a world where data centers demand constant electricity and cooling.

That is the claim now attached to a newly verified Guinness World Record achieved by TU Wien and Cerabyte, for creating and reading the smallest QR code ever produced.

At its core, the development is less about novelty and more about whether ceramic media can fundamentally change how information is preserved.