Sandisk facts for kids
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Sandisk headquarters in Milpitas, pictured when it was a subsidiary of Western Digital
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Formerly
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| Industry | Computer data storage |
| Founded | June 1, 1988 |
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U.S.
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| Brands | SanDisk Professional |
| Revenue |  US$6.66 billion (2024) |
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Number of employees
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8,790 |
Sandisk Corporation is a technology company from the United States. It is based in Milpitas, California. Sandisk makes products that store digital information using flash memory. These products include memory cards for cameras, USB flash drives (often called "thumb drives"), and solid-state drives (SSDs) for computers.
The company was started in 1988 as SunDisk. Its founders were Eli Harari, Sanjay Mehrotra, and Jack Yuan. They created important early flash storage technologies. One of their first big inventions was a flash-based solid-state drive in 1991. SunDisk changed its name to SanDisk in 1995. It then became a public company. In 2016, Western Digital bought SanDisk. However, in February 2025, Western Digital made its flash storage business a separate company again, under the Sandisk name.
Contents
The Story of Sandisk
How Sandisk Started
The company began in 1988. It was first called SunDisk. The founders were Eli Harari, Sanjay Mehrotra, and Jack Yuan.
One of the founders, Eli Harari, invented something called the Floating Gate EEPROM. This invention made it possible to store data reliably using computer chips. It showed that semiconductor-based storage could really work.
Early Products and Innovations
In 1991, SanDisk created the first flash-based solid-state drive (SSD). It looked like a 2.5-inch hard disk drive. This SSD was made for IBM and could hold 20 MB of data. It cost about $1,000 at the time.
In 1992, SanDisk introduced FlashDisk. These were memory cards designed for PCMCIA slots. Many laptops and handheld computers used these slots back then. Unlike other similar products, FlashDisks did not need a battery to keep their data. SanDisk stopped making them in 2002. The largest one could hold 8 gigabytes.
Becoming a Public Company
On November 8, 1995, SunDisk changed its name to SanDisk. This was to avoid confusion with another company called Sun Microsystems. SanDisk then became a public company. This means its shares could be bought and sold on the Nasdaq stock market. The company sold 16 million shares at $10.00 each.
In May 2000, SanDisk worked with Toshiba Corporation from Japan. They formed a new company together. This company was created to make advanced flash memory, especially for digital cameras.
Entering the Music Player Market
In 2005, SanDisk started making digital music players. Their first flash-based MP3 player was the SanDisk Sansa e100. By 2006, SanDisk was the second-largest maker of digital audio players in the United States. Only Apple sold more.
Growing Through Acquisitions
SanDisk grew by buying other companies. In October 2005, it bought Matrix Semiconductor. In July 2006, SanDisk acquired M-Systems. These purchases helped SanDisk get new technologies and products.
Later, SanDisk bought more companies that made solid-state drives and software. For example, it acquired Pliant Technology in 2011. It also bought SMART Storage Systems in 2013. In 2014, SanDisk acquired Fusion-io, which made flash memory for large data centers.
Awards and Recognition
In 2014, SanDisk co-founder Eli Harari received a special award. He won the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. President Barack Obama gave him this award. It was for his important inventions and contributions to flash memory storage.
Becoming Part of Western Digital
In October 2015, Western Digital announced it wanted to buy SanDisk. The deal was completed on May 12, 2016. SanDisk became a part of Western Digital.
Becoming Independent Again
In October 2023, Western Digital announced a big change. It planned to make its flash storage businesses a new, separate public company. This new company would be called Sandisk. This meant Western Digital would focus only on hard drives.
The company started getting ready for this split in October 2024. All information for flash storage products that used to be under the WD brand moved to the Sandisk website. In December 2024, Sandisk showed off a new logo. It was inspired by pixels. The company also changed its name's spelling to "Sandisk".
The split was finished on February 24, 2025. Sandisk Corporation was listed on the Nasdaq stock market again. It used the same stock symbol, SNDK, that it had before being bought by Western Digital. Western Digital still owns some shares in Sandisk.
See also
In Spanish: SanDisk para niños
- Eye-Fi
- FlashCP
- SanDisk portable media players
- SanDisk Professional
- USB flash drive security
- U3
- ULLtraDIMM
