STec
| Company type | Public (until acquisition) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer data storage |
| Predecessor | Simple Technology (later SimpleTech) |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Founder | Manouch Moshayedi, Mike Moshayedi |
| Defunct | 2013 |
| Fate | Acquired by HGST, a division of Western Digital |
| Headquarters | California , United States |
Area served | Worldwide (including China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Silicon Valley, Taiwan) |
Key people | Manouch Moshayedi (CEO), Mark Moshayedi (President and COO, later CEO) |
| Products | Solid-state drives (SSDs), flash memory, DRAM |
sTec, Inc. was a U.S.-based company specializing in computer data storage technologies, with its headquarters located in California. The firm maintained research, development, sales, support, and manufacturing operations throughout China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Silicon Valley (USA), and Taiwan.
Initially established in 1990 as Simple Technology (later renamed SimpleTech) by brothers Manouch and Mark Moshayedi, the enterprise focused on engineering and producing solid-state drives (SSDs) utilizing flash memory and dynamic random access memory (DRAM). Its primary clientele consisted of data center operators and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partners.
Prominent customers included Dell, EMC, Fujitsu, HP, and IBM. Additionally, the company developed an extensive network of distributors, resellers, and system integrators.
On September 12, 2013, sTec was acquired by HGST, a division of Western Digital.
Simple Technology
In 1990, Iranian-born siblings Manouch and Mike Moshayedi founded Simple Technology with an initial investment of $100,000 from personal funds. The company’s early focus was on designing and marketing computer memory modules. Mark Moshayedi joined the leadership team in 1993 as chief operating and technical officer. Between 1990 and 2007, the firm developed products including flash-based SSDs, dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), and static random-access memory (SRAM).
The company expanded into the flash memory market in 1994 by acquiring Cirrus Logic’s flash controller division for consumer electronics. In 1998, it further strengthened its position by purchasing SiliconTech Inc., thereby acquiring its flash memory business clientele. By 1999, Simple Technology had pioneered the release of 1 GB solid-state IDE storage devices, SDRAM modules, and 320 MB Type II CompactFlash products.
On September 26, 2000, the company went public on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker symbol STEC.
SimpleTech
In 2001, Simple Technology rebranded itself as SimpleTech.
The company introduced the SimpleShare consumer-oriented network attached storage device in November 2004. Two years later, in 2006, it launched its first portable external hard drive designed by Pininfarina.
Early in 2007, SimpleTech divested its consumer product division to Fabrik Inc., a firm founded and financed by Keyur Patel, Anaal Udaybabu, and Mike Cordano. The transaction was valued at $43 million in cash. Fabrik continued to market products under the SimpleTech brand name, including the Joggle.com website and the environmentally conscious [re]drive introduced in 2008.
In 2009, Fabrik was acquired by Hitachi for an estimated $950 million.
sTec
Following the divestiture in 2007, the remaining OEM-focused segment operated as STEC, Inc. (later stylized as sTec, Inc.) and remained publicly listed on the NASDAQ until its acquisition in 2013. This entity concentrated on business-grade flash memory solutions. Mike Moshayedi departed from the company while Mark Moshayedi assumed roles as president and COO; Manouch Moshayedi served as CEO.
Mark Moshayedi was elevated to president in March 2007. Within that year, sTec became the first vendor to supply enterprise-class SSDs to OEM customers.
By 2009, sTec's ZeusIOPS enterprise SSDs were exclusively purchased by EMC Corporation, leading to a market capitalization of approximately $1 billion.
In April 2011, sTec expanded its strategic research and development footprint by acquiring assets from Knowledge Quest Infotech Private Limited based in Pune, India.
In September 2012, Mark Moshayedi took on the role of CEO at sTec.
On June 24, 2013, it was announced that sTec would be integrated into HGST under the ownership of Western Digital for roughly $340 million.
Products
SimpleTech serves as a consumer-focused brand specializing in external hard drives and backup solutions, under the ownership of Fabrik Inc.. The brand combines hardware, software, and cloud services to enable users to store, safeguard, organize, and share their digital data. Initially established by Simple Technology (founded in 1990 and rebranded as SimpleTech in 2001), the brand was acquired by Fabrik in February 2007.
The product portfolio of SimpleTech features USB flash drives, flash memory cards, memory upgrade modules, and external portable hard disk drives. Fabrik enhanced SimpleTech’s storage offerings by integrating them with backup and content management applications along with online platforms such as FabrikUltimateBackup.com and Joggle.com.
Among the notable products are the Signature Mini USB Portable Drives, the Pro Drive series, and the eco-friendly SimpleTech [re]drive. The design of these portable external storage devices draws inspiration from Ferrari’s design house, Pininfarina.