Exascend Co. Ltd., a high-performance solid-state storage company, today announced the completion of its series B financing led by Silicon Valley-based venture capital fund Walden International. Other investors include Harmony Riverside and IPV Capital.
Exascend is a software-defined solid-state storage solution provider specialized in high performance, high reliability, high capacity, customizable SATA and PCIe NVMe solid-state drive (SSD) products. Built on in-house developed hardware, firmware, and product validation platform, Exascend products target enterprise and industrial applications such as artificial intelligence, autonomous driving, edge storage, industrial automation, entertainment, and telemetry.
This round of financing will enable Exascend to accelerate team expansion, diversify product portfolio, and promote the building of software-defined storage ecosystem, towards achieving the strategic goal of a differentiated storage product platform. The infusion of capital will also speed up customer and channel penetration, further cultivate the market segments of software-defined storage, and build Exascend towards a global supplier of solid-state storage solutions.
As disparate applications have diversified needs and expectations for the storage device, Exascend’s goal is to empower end-users and provide a tailored user experience with its highly composable firmware solution. Exascend believes that every application deserves a unique design that maximizes its role in a system.
“Despite the slow-down in the global economy and capital market, we are strongly encouraged and excited to receive substantial support from leading global investors like Walden International,” said Exascend CEO Frank Chen. “This further validates Exascend’s technology and business model. Recently, we have also attracted several high-profile executives from the global storage industry to join us, preparing Exascend towards leadership in the high-performance, software-defined solid-state storage industry. Our mission is to redefine data storage through technology innovation to enhance the value of data and improve people’s digital lives.”
“Exascend is an innovation leader in solid-state storage,” said Lin Wang, a Partner at Walden International. “We strongly believe in its success in this fast-growing market and appreciate the continued support from earlier investors THG Ventures and IPV Capital. This round of financing will pave the way for Exascend to scale its production capability, enable its worldwide market expansion, and realize its next phase of accelerated growth.”
The demand for solid-state storage has grown rapidly. Whether in data centers, enterprise servers or home PCs, magnetic hard disks are increasingly replaced by solid-state drives. With diversification of applications, the need for customization has also exploded. Exascend is one of a few companies in the world that can address this booming demand. With internally developed firmware and hardware platforms and full control of core technologies, it is becoming one of the industry’s most respected and dependable storage solution providers.
According to IDC, the global SSD market was valued at more than $25 billion in 2018, taking more than 40% of NAND Flash consumption. Additionally, over 50% of SSDs shipped were of enterprise and industrial grade. It is further projected that by 2021 the global SSD market will reach over $35 billion.
About Exascend
Exascend excels in providing customers with maximum value of data storage by innovative and custom solutions. Since its founding, the company has been awarded more than 45 US and worldwide patents on solid-state storage technologies. With full product lines of SATA and PCIe NVMe SSD drives, its highly differentiated capabilities span across hardware and software design, engineering, manufacturing, operations, and services. “Ascend in Excellence,” Exascend prides itself for enabling its global customer base to push the boundary of possibilities and leading the storage industry with quality, reliability, and flexibility.
About Walden International
A pioneer and leader of cross-border venture investments, Walden International was established in the United States in 1987, currently managing more than $2 billion in capital. Its investors include the most influential investment institutions, foundations, and individuals in the US and Asia. Walden International specializes in investing in outstanding professional teams and companies in the fields of semiconductor, health care, internet, and other high growth technology sectors, helping them to become future industry leaders. Headquartered in San Francisco, Walden International has offices in Silicon Valley and major cities around the world.
