Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) is in talks to acquire its first Israeli company: Herzliya-based flash storage solutions provider Anobit Ltd. for $400-500 million.
Anobit chairman and CEO Ehud Weinstein and president Ariel Maislos founded the company in 2007. Its solutions can store large quantities of data, even in the event of a power outage, for enterprise and mobile customers, such as for use by smartphones.
Apple reportedly wants to increase the data storage capacity of its iPads and iPhones, and will probably keep most of Anobit's staff in Israel.
In August, Anobit said that it has sold 20 million NAND-based embedded flash controllers to date to computing giants for their smartphones, music players, tablets, and other products. Market sources estimate that the company's revenue this year will be $30-40 million, partly from its second target market - cloud computing storage solutions for enterprises.
The company has raised $77 million to date. Anobit's investors include Pitango Venture Capital, Battery Ventures, Intel Capital, and strategic investors.
Six months ago, Anobit launched its flash memory Genesis Solid State Drives (SSD), which are designed to replace computers' magnetic hard drives that are the current memory mainstay of PCs and storage systems. Gartner Group says that the SSD market is fastest growing computing market.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 13, 2011
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