SanDisk facts for kids
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Western Digital office in Milpitas
(formerly headquarters of SanDisk) |
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Formerly
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Storage devices |
| Founded | June 1, 1988 |
| Founders | Eli Harari Sanjay Mehrotra Jack Yuan |
| Headquarters | , |
| Products |
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Number of employees
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 8,790 |
| Parent | Western Digital (2016–present) |
SanDisk LLC is an American technology company. It is famous for making flash memory products. These products help you store digital information.
SanDisk makes things like memory cards for cameras and phones. They also make USB flash drives, which are small devices to carry files. Other products include solid-state drives (SSDs) for computers and digital audio players.
The company started in 1988 as SunDisk Corporation. In 1995, its name changed to SanDisk Corporation. In 2016, a company called Western Digital bought SanDisk. Since then, it has been known as SanDisk LLC.
As of 2019, Western Digital was one of the biggest makers of flash memory.
How SanDisk Started
SanDisk was first called SunDisk. It was founded in 1988 by three people. Their names were Eli Harari, Sanjay Mehrotra, and Jack Yuan.
In 1995, the company changed its name to SanDisk. This was to avoid being confused with another big computer company called Sun Microsystems.
One of the founders, Eli Harari, created an important technology. It was called Floating Gate EEPROM. This technology made it possible to store data reliably using computer chips.
In 1991, SanDisk made the first flash-based solid-state drive (SSD). This was a new type of storage for computers. It was made for IBM and could hold 20 MB of data.
In 1992, SanDisk introduced FlashDisk memory cards. These cards could be put into laptops and handheld computers. Unlike other cards, FlashDisks did not need a battery to keep their information. SanDisk stopped making them in 2002. The largest FlashDisk could hold 8 gigabytes of data.
In 2000, SanDisk teamed up with Toshiba Corporation from Japan. They created a new company together. This company made advanced flash memory, especially for digital cameras.
In 2005, SanDisk started making digital audio players. Their first MP3 player was the SanDisk Sansa e100. By 2006, SanDisk was the second-largest maker of these players in the United States. Only Apple made more.
How SanDisk Grew
SanDisk grew by buying other companies. Here are some of the companies they bought:
- In 2005, they bought Matrix Semiconductor.
- In 2006, they bought M-Systems.
- In 2011, they bought Pliant Technology. This company made solid-state drives.
- In 2012, they bought FlashSoft.
- In 2012, they bought Schooner Information Technology. This company made special software for databases.
- In 2013, they bought SMART Storage Systems. This company made SSDs for large businesses.
- In 2014, they bought Fusion-io. This company made flash memory for big computer centers.
Awards and Sale to Western Digital
SanDisk received some important awards. In 2012, a group called the Enough Project looked at many electronics companies. They ranked SanDisk as one of the best for making sure their materials were sourced responsibly. This means they tried to avoid using "conflict minerals." These are minerals that might come from areas where fighting is happening.
In 2014, Eli Harari, one of SanDisk's founders, won a special award. It was the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. President Barack Obama gave him this award. It was for his amazing work in flash memory technology.
In 2016, a big company called Western Digital bought SanDisk. This happened on May 12, 2016, for about $19 billion.
In 2019, another SanDisk co-founder, Sanjay Mehrotra, received a lifetime achievement award.
See also
In Spanish: SanDisk para niños
- Eye-Fi
- FlashCP
- SanDisk portable media players
- SanDisk Professional
- USB flash drive security
- StartKey
- U3
- ULLtraDIMM
