Related

• Nokia And Samsung Readying 3D Smartphones
• Intel Working On Two Smartphone Chipsets For 2013: Merrifield And 6331
• Samsung Galaxy S III Exynos 4 Quad Chipset Officially Confirmed
• Nvidia Working On Tegra 4 Chipset With LTE Support, Release Date Is Q1 2013

Apple is looking to purchase a company which manufacturers flash memory units and solutions to improve the technology behind these components, says a report. It seems like the company called Anobit has hit the jackpot as Apple is reportedly looking to buy it for an amount between $400 million and $500 million.

This will become the first Apple acquisition since Tim Cook became CEO and one of the few hardware-related companies bought by the fruit firm. Anobit is a company based in Israel and it manufactures flash memory units powered by MSP technology. Memory Signal Processing is one of the many proprietary technologies created by Anobit and its main goal is to improve the life of flash memory units.

The Memory Signal Processing technique enhances the speed of a flash memory unit, its overall performance, and the durability of the said components. The algorithm behind the technology extends the physical capabilities of NAND flash units and the technology is used by many companies around the world, however, Anobit hasn’t listed its partners due to several reasons.

According to the report, Anobit NAND flash solutions can be found in multiple Apple products including the iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and MacBook Air. These mobile flash memory chips have been greatly improved thanks to Anobit’s technology therefore Apple decided to buy the company altogether in order to make sure that nobody will else will use them.

Apparently, the Israeli firm has more than 95 registered patents and it raised more than $70 million from investors like Intel, Pitango Venture Capital, and Battery Ventures. The MSP technique is found in the iPhone 4S and it will also be available in the next-generation iPhone 5 as NAND flash units are more powerful while the costs are being cut down to the minimum possible.

Back in August, Anobit announced that it shipped more than 20 million flash memory units to its partners and that shipments are expected to grow next year.

The company was co-founded in 2006 by Prof. Ehud Weinstein and Ariel Maislos. The former is currently the CEO, while the latter is the President. Both of them have a good reputation and a great experience as Prof. Ehud Weinstein was the Libit Signal Processing co-founder, a company which was bought by Texas Instruments more than a decade ago. Also, Mr. Maislos was a Passave co-founder, a firm bought by PMC Sierra five years ago.

Last but not least, the report states that Anobit has less than 200 employees, all of them being really talented and committed to their work.