Apple isn’t just pondering the purchase of Israeli flash memory company Anobit, it is also looking to plant some other roots in the region, according to a report from Israel-based publication Globes.
Apple has reportedly hired Aharon Aharon, a high-tech vet in Israel’s tech scene, to lead a new development center focused on semiconductors.
Aharon has a deep history in the tech field, including Camero, an RF-based imaging system company, which he founded in 2004 and for which he still serves as Chairman. Before that, he was involved in Discretix, Zoran and was employed at IBM’s Haifa development center.
Aharon is set to open the development center next year, after spending several months at Apple headquarters in Cupertino.
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These plans will reportedly go ahead regardless of whether Apple finalizes its plans to purchase Anobit or not and it is said to be an independent effort from that acquisition.
Supporting the report is the fact that Apple’s Vice President of R&D Ed Frank is currently visiting Israel.
If this plan comes to fruition, it would mark the first semiconductor development center for the company outside of California, where it is headquartered. Apple also has some developer centers related to software in Austin, Vancouver, France and Germany.
Apple traditionally makes very few acquisitions and spends a remarkably small amount on R&D (as well as plants and equipment) when compared to other companies, which is surprising when its success in the consumer product market is considered.
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