Cloud Computing: Dell to Fund Storage Start-Ups
July 21, 2012
Dell has set up a $60 million Fluid Data Storage Fund to back early-stage storage start-ups, a combination of build and buy. Jim Lussier, managing director of Dell’s venture capital business, says it is looking for mid-level widgetry hoping to find the "next big thing." Apparently that means cloud storage, memory-based storage and next-generation-storage architectures.
It figures to put a modest $3 million-$5 million per round in five to 10 promising start-ups in exchange for equity and access to the IP.
Of course they’d have to play to Dell architecture…
Dell says it’s "looking to change the economics of the storage industry by doing two things – bringing high-end enterprise features to the broad mid-market and solving enterprise problems at a midrange price point."
It’s put together a cross-functional team of experts from storage, software, CTO, corporate development and its acquisitions to identify and evaluate opportunities and oversee the investments through to market.
Dell says it will also contribute "sweat equity" and round up VCs to go in on the deals.
Apparently Dell traces the data explosion to tablets and smartphones, hardware where it isn’t represented.