Amazon Buys Flash Storage Startup E8 Storage For AWS: Report

E8 Storage provides flash storage with a rack-scale architecture for the enterprise and software-defined cloud, delivering storage performance for half the cost of existing storage products by using only off-the-shelf hardware.

Amazon has acquired Israeli-based flash storage startup E8 Storage, according to multiple reports, with its employees set to join public cloud leader Amazon Web Services.

E8 Storage, which made CRN’s 2017 Emerging Vendors list, provides flash storage with a rack-scale architecture for the enterprise and software-defined cloud, delivering storage performance for half the cost of existing storage products while using only off-the-shelf hardware, according to the company. The vendor says its E8 Storage appliance eliminates storage need projections, is easily upgradeable and expandable, enables converged networking, and increases solid state drives utilization.

The news was first reported by Israel’s Globes news website, which cited an unnamed source close to the deal. Globes reported that sources in the market estimate the deal to be worth between $50 million and $60 million.

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Amazon and E8 Storage did not respond to CRN request for comment by press time.

Founded in 2014, E8 Storage has only a few dozen employees that are largely based in Israel, according to E8’s LinkedIn profile. The company has raised approximately $18 million over the past five years, according to Crunchbase.

E8 Storage is led by CEO and co-founder Zivan Ori, who previously held the role as Chief Architect at Stratoscale with other executive experience working for the likes of McAfee and Intel. With E8 Storage, data centers can enjoy unprecedented storage performance density and scale, delivering NVMe performance without compromising on reliability and availability, according to the vendor.

In January, AWS acquired Israeli-based data migration startup CloudEndure for a price tag of between $200 million to $250 million.