This article was published on December 13, 2012

SanDisk launches $75m venture fund for flash memory startups, invests in data storage company Whiptail


SanDisk launches $75m venture fund for flash memory startups, invests in data storage company Whiptail

Flash memory specialist SanDisk has announced the launch of SanDisk Ventures, which will manage a $75m fund designed to invest in “startups that are developing innovative solutions based on flash memory technology.”

This is a move designed to strengthen SanDisk’s position across the flash memory ecosystem and ensure it has an interest in anything that may further its own interests in the future. The company’s announcement says that the fund will focus on the fields of solid-state memory, enterprise storage, storage technologies to manage ‘big data,’ and cloud computing.

SanDisk Venture’s first investment is a strategic investment as part of Whiptail‘s Series-C round, also announced today. Whiptail offers enterprise-level flash storage solutions. Ignition Partners, RRE Ventures and Spring Mountain Capital also participated in the $31m round.

Although SanDisk is only just getting into the corporate VC game, it has made enterprise-focused acquisitions of Pliant Technology, FlashSoft, and Schooner Information Technology over the past 18 months.

Image credit: AFP / Getty Images

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