Violin Memory
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer data storage solutions |
| Founded | 2005 |
| Founder | Donpaul Stephens, Jon Bennett |
| Headquarters | Mountain View, California , United States |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | XVS 8 platform, 7000 series, Flash Storage Platform (FSP 7250 and 7600), 7700 series, 6000 series (6600, 6200, 6100) |
Violin Systems, previously known as Violin Memory, was a privately held American firm located in Silicon Valley, California, focused on the development and production of computer data storage solutions.
Corporate history
Established in 2005 under the name Violin Technologies by Donpaul Stephens and Jon Bennett in Iselin, New Jersey, the company secured over $10 million during its Series A funding round in 2010. The following year, it attracted $75 million from investors including Juniper Networks and Toshiba America Electronic Components (TAEC). By that period, its headquarters had moved to Mountain View, California.
In March 2012, Violin Memory completed an $80 million Series D financing led by SAP Ventures, with participation from Highland Capital and GSV among others, placing the company's valuation above $800 million. The initial public offering in September 2013 generated $162 million at a share price of $9. Nevertheless, the stock value sharply declined to $2 after Hewlett Packard, its principal partner, entered the market as a competitor and concerns arose regarding the company’s rapid cash depletion. The subsequent year saw a reported loss of $34 million, triggering the CEO’s ousting amid shareholder litigation alleging failure to disclose financial consequences related to a federal government shutdown. Kevin DeNuccio succeeded CEO Basile in early 2014.
By October 2016, Violin Memory was removed from the New York Stock Exchange due to its market capitalization dropping below $15 million and transitioned to trading on OTCQX under the ticker VMEM. Valued at approximately $3.7 million toward the end of 2016, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on December 14 of that year.
After emerging from bankruptcy in April 2017, Violin Systems was acquired by Quantum Partners LP, an investment fund managed by Soros Fund Management LLC. In October 2018, Violin Systems announced its acquisition of X-IO Technologies’ storage division; following this transaction, X-IO rebranded itself as Axellio.
Technology
Violin utilizes a unique flash fabric architecture (FFA) instead of conventional solid-state drives (SSD). This design combines a network of NAND flash dies and modules within a switched architecture that provides fault tolerance, thereby improving both reliability and performance. In September 2011, Violin launched the 6000 series, featuring all-silicon shared flash memory storage arrays.
The firm’s software platform, vMOS, complements the FFA by delivering data protection, system management, and host connectivity capabilities, strengthening Violin’s position in enterprise storage markets.
Products
Violin’s product lineup includes the high-performance XVS 8 platform introduced in October 2018. The 7000 series incorporates sophisticated features such as application-aware snapshots, continuous data protection, synchronous and asynchronous replication, along with metro cluster support—critical functionalities for enterprise-grade data centers.
In December 2015, Violin expanded its Flash Storage Platform with the addition of FSP 7250 and 7600 models; the FSP 7250 is designed for entry-level customers seeking optimized performance at reduced capacity levels.
The scalable 7700 series can accommodate up to ten arrays from the 6000 or 7000 series, offering up to 700TB raw capacity or reaching as much as 3.5PB when deduplication is applied—catering to extensive storage requirements.
Within the 6000 series are models such as the SLC flash-based 6600 (17.5TB capacity), the versatile 6200 (ranging from 17.5 to 70TB), and the cost-efficient 6100 which employs a pay-as-you-grow pricing model—providing adaptable investment options tailored to diverse enterprise demands.
External links
- Obsolete computer hardware firms
- Storage technology companies
- San Jose, California-based companies
- Computer firms founded in 2005
- 2005 California establishments
- U.S. companies founded in 2005
- Defunct American computer companies
- American companies established in 2005
- Companies of the United States by year of establishment