Pure Storage has acquired over 100 storage and related technology patents from IBM and the companies have signed a patent cross-license agreement. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“This transaction significantly increases the number of Pure’s patents, creating a more robust and strategic patent portfolio that will allow our customers to benefit even more from our focus on advancing storage innovation,” said Joe FitzGerald, vice president, Legal for Pure Storage.
“This agreement with Pure Storage demonstrates the value of IBM’s patented inventions and our dedication to encouraging innovation by licensing access to our extensive patent portfolio IBM’s extensive R&D investment and the industry’s largest storage array patent portfolio are key drivers behind our flash storage leadership,” said Dr. William LaFontaine, General Manager, Intellectual Property, for IBM.
http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/44199.wss
- In April, Pure Storage, a start-up based in Mountain View, California, closed a $225 million Series F funding round, at a pre-money valuation of over $3 billion, to support its all-flash enterprise storage array strategy. The round included contributions from previous public market investors including T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. and Tiger Global and new investor, Wellington Management Company. The round also included participation from prior venture capital investors Greylock Partners, Index Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, and Sutter Hill Ventures. The new funding brings the company’s total capital raised to $470 million to date.
- Pure Storage offers all-flash enterprise arrays for high performance workloads, including server virtualization, desktop virtualization (VDI), database (OLTP, real-time analytics) and cloud computing. The company’s approach combines proprietary data deduplication and compression technologies with affordable multi-level cell (MLC) flash memory.
