Toshiba invests in M-Systems, licenses IP

Toshiba invests in M-Systems, licenses IP
By Semiconductor Business News
July 29, 2003 (4:39 p.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20030729S0025

TOKYO — Japan's Toshiba Corp. said Tuesday (July 29) it has invested in M-Systems Inc. (Kfar Saba, Israel), a supplier of flash-based data storage products.

Tokyo-based Toshiba and M-Systems also disclosed plans to co-develop NAND flash-based data storage products. The agreement includes joint development of next-generation products as well as cross licensing of intellectual property.

The development involves M-Systems' flash-disk technology, which provides the functionality of a mechanical hard drive in a silicon chip. Toshiba has apparently licensed IP for M-Systems' DiskOnChip technology.

"Toshiba and M-Systems have worked closely together for many years," Masashi Muromachi, vice president of Toshiba Corp.'s semiconductor unit, said in a statement. "This agreement gives Toshiba important IP that allows us to further expand NAND flash memory applications."