亲力亲为？传苹果欲收购闪存厂Anobit

根据一份名为Calcalist的希伯来文刊物报导，PC与消费性电子大厂苹果(Apple)正在洽商收购以色列新创公司 Anobit Technologies ，价格在4亿至5亿美元之间； Anobit 是 NAND闪存控制器开发商，号称可提升闪存的耐久度(最大读写次数)。 闪存的耐久度随着制程微 缩而大幅下滑，因此使得该种内存不再适用许多领域；而当耐久度降低，就可能需要安装额外的内存以提供更多缓冲空间。成立于2006年的Anobit原 本是生产固态硬盘(solid-state drives，SSD)，该公司开发的内存讯号处理(Memory Signal Processing，MSP)技术，结合了纠错与内存管理架构，能弥补错误与用旧了的项目，并因此提高闪存耐久度。 Anobit 已经与海力士半导体(Hynix Semiconductor)合作，在2011年初量产MSP2020 NAND闪存控制器；根据Calcalist的报导，该款芯片并已获得多款Apple产品采用，包括 iPhone 、 iPad 与MacBook air。 据了解，Anobit从Pitango、Battery Ventures、Intel Capital与 Micron Technologies取得了超过7,200万美元的融资；该公司员工数约200人。在今年8月，Anobit宣布，该公司已经出货了超过2,000万 颗闪存控制器，而且其MSP2025芯片可支持采用20奈米/次20奈米制程技术的256GByte NAND闪存。 编译：Judith Cheng 本文授权编译自EE Times，版权所有，谢绝转载 参考英文原文：Report: Apple in talks to buy flash memory firm,by Peter Clarke

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{pagination} Report: Apple in talks to buy flash memory firm Peter Clarke LONDON – PC and consumer goods firm Apple is in talks to buy startup Anobit Technologies Ltd. at a price of between $400 million and $500 million, according to a report in a Hebrew publication called Calcalist. Anobit (Herzeliya, Israel) has developed NAND flash controller technology that can improve the apparent endurance – the number of reads and writes flash memory can perform. The raw endurance performance of flash memory reduces dramatically with reduction in the geometry of the manufacturing process technology, to the point where flash memory becomes unsuitable for many applications. Anobit was founded in 2006 to make solid-state drives. It's MSP (Memory Signal Processing) technology is a combination of error correction and memory management schemes that compensates for errors and evens out wear thereby allowing higher apparent performance. Low endurance can result in the need to install additional memory to provide endurance headroom. Anobit began production of its MSP2020 NAND flash memory controller in cooperation with Hynix Semiconductor Inc. earlier in 2011. Chips from Anobit are already incorporated in a number of Apple products, including the iPhone, the iPad and the MacBook air, the report said. Anobit is examining a large financing round with a leading Asian flash memory manufacturer, the report said, and the talks with Apple may end up with both companies becoming strategic investors in Anobit, the report said. Anobit is believed to have received more than $72 million from venture capital firms including Pitango, Battery Ventures, Intel Capital and Micron Technologies and has about 200 staff. In August Anobit announced that it had shipped more than 20 million flash controllers and that its MSP2025 supported up to 256-Gbyte of NAND flash implemented on 20-nm and sub-20-nm process technology. Prior to co-founding Anobit, Professor Ehud Weinstein was a co-founder, chairman and CEO of Libit Signal Processing, which was acquired by Texas Instruments in 1999. Ariel Maislos is a fellow co-founder of Anobit prior to which he was co-founder and president of Passave, which was acquired by PMC Sierra in 2006. CTO Avraham Meir was previously vice president of corporate engineering at SanDisk and the CTO at M-Systems until it was acquired by SanDisk. Anobit entered the Silicon 60, EE Times' list of emerging startup companies at version 12.0 in 2011. The latest edition of the Silicon 60 is version 12.5, which is the topic of a detailed technology and employment digital edition which can be accessed via http://e.ubmelectronics.com/Silicon60/index.html