Pure Storage

{{Infobox company

| name = Pure Storage, Inc.

| logo = Pure-storage-vector-logo.svg

| former_name = OS76, Inc.

| type = Public

| founded = {{Start date and age|2009}}

| traded_as = {{Unbulleted list|{{NYSE|PSTG}} (Class A)|S&P 400 component}}

| hq_location = {{nowrap|Santa Clara, California, U.S.}}

| key_people = Charles Giancarlo (CEO)

| num_employees = {{circa|5,600}} (2024)

| area_served = Worldwide

| products = Data Storage Hardware and Software

| brands =

| founders = {{Unbulleted list|John Colgrove|John Hayes}}

| industry = Data storage

| revenue = {{increase}} {{US$|2.830 billion|link=yes}} (2024)

| operating_income = {{decrease}} {{US$|53.551 million}} (2024)

| net_income = {{decrease}} {{US$|61.311 million}} (2024)

| assets = {{increase}} {{US$|3.655 billion}} (2024)

| equity = {{increase}} {{US$|1.270 billion}} (2024)

| funding =

| homepage = {{URL|purestorage.com}}

| production =

| footnotes = Financials {{as of|2024|2|5|lc=y|df=US}}{{cite web|title=Pure Storage, Inc. Fiscal 2024 Annual Report (Form 10-K) |url=https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1474432/000162828024013860/pstg-20240204.htm |date=1 April 2024 |publisher=Pure Storage}}

}}

Pure Storage, Inc. is an American publicly traded technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, United States. It develops all-flash data storage hardware and software products. Pure Storage was founded in 2009 and developed its products in stealth mode until 2011. Afterwards, the company grew in revenues by about 50% per quarter and raised more than $470 million in venture capital funding, before going public in 2015. Initially, Pure Storage developed the software for storage controllers and used generic flash storage hardware. Pure Storage finished developing its own proprietary flash storage hardware in 2015.

Corporate history

Pure Storage was founded in 2009 under the code name Os76 Inc.{{cite web | last=Malik | first=Om | title=Zimbra Executive Heads To Hot Storage Startup | website=Gigaom | date=October 4, 2010 | url=https://gigaom.com/2010/10/04/pure-storage/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912031711/https://gigaom.com/2010/10/04/pure-storage/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=September 12, 2014 | accessdate=May 19, 2018}} by John Colgrove and John Hayes.{{cite web | last=Dietzen | first=-Scott | title=Predicting what's in store: A flash flood of data | website=CNBC | date=June 17, 2014 | url=https://www.cnbc.com/2014/06/17/disruptors-in-2014-pure-storage.html | access-date=May 19, 2018}} Initially, the company was setup within the offices of Sutter Hill Ventures, a venture capital firm, and funded with $5 million in early investments. Pure Storage raised another $20 million in venture capital in a series B funding round.{{cite web |last=Hesseldahl |first=Arik |date=August 12, 2015 |title=Pure Storage Files to Go Public Later This Year |url=https://www.vox.com/2015/8/12/11615526/pure-storage-files-to-go-public-later-this-year |accessdate=May 19, 2018 |website=Recode}}

The company came out of stealth mode as Pure Storage in August 2011.{{cite web | last=Mearian | first=Lucas | title=Start-up Pure Storage emerges with all-SSD array | website=Computerworld | date=August 23, 2011 | url=https://www.computerworld.com/article/2510691/solid-state-drives/start-up-pure-storage-emerges-with-all-ssd-array.html | accessdate=May 19, 2018}} Simultaneously, Pure Storage announced it had raised $30 million in a third round of venture capital funding.{{cite web | last=Higginbotham | first=Stacey | title=Pure Storage brings hard disk pricing to Flash storage | website=Gigaom | date=August 23, 2011 | url=https://gigaom.com/2011/08/23/pure-storage-brings-hard-disk-pricing-to-flash-storage/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003155818/http://gigaom.com/2011/08/23/pure-storage-brings-hard-disk-pricing-to-flash-storage/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=October 3, 2013 | accessdate=May 19, 2018}} Another $40 million was raised in August 2012, in order to fund Pure Storage's expansion into European markets.{{cite web | last=Darrow | first=Barb | title=Pure Storage scoops up $40M in validation of all-flash push | website=Gigaom | date=August 15, 2012 | url=https://gigaom.com/2012/08/15/pure-storage-scoops-up-40m-in-validation-of-all-flash-push/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130904120303/http://gigaom.com/2012/08/15/pure-storage-scoops-up-40m-in-validation-of-all-flash-push/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=September 4, 2013 | accessdate=May 19, 2018}} In May 2013, the venture capital arm of the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), In-Q-Tel, made an investment in Pure Storage for an un-disclosed amount.{{cite web | last=McLaughlin | first=Kevin | title=Hot Startup Pure Storage Just Became The CIA's First Flash Storage Investment | website=Business Insider | date=May 29, 2013 | url=http://www.businessinsider.com/pure-storage-investment-from-cias-vc-2013-5 | accessdate=May 19, 2018}} That August, Pure Storage raised another $150 million in funding. By this time, the company had raised a total of $245 million in venture capital investments.{{cite web | last=Farrell | first=Michael B. | title=EMC sues ex-employees who joined rival | website=BostonGlobe.com | date=October 23, 2013 | url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2013/10/23/emc-sues-employees-who-joined-rival/GpTuUk8gMyB6JZ8iV2yHsM/story.html | access-date=May 19, 2018}} The following year, in 2014, Pure Storage raised $225 million in a series F funding round, valuating the company at $3 billion.{{cite web |date=February 27, 2024 |title=What Is DirectFlash and How Does It Work? |url=https://www.purestorage.com/knowledge/what-is-directflash-and-how-does-it-work.html |accessdate=February 27, 2024 |website=Pure Storage, Inc}}

Annual revenues for Pure Storage grew by almost 50% per quarter, from 2012 to 2014.{{cite web | title=Pure Storage, EMC, And IBM Lead The All-Flash Array Pack | website=EnterpriseTech | date=September 2, 2014 | first=Timothy |last=Morgan|url=https://www.enterprisetech.com/2014/09/02/pure-storage-emc-ibm-lead-flash-array-pack/ | accessdate=May 19, 2018}} It had $6 million in revenues in fiscal 2013, $43 million in fiscal 2014, and $174 million in fiscal 2015.{{cite web |first=Glenn|last=Solomon| title=The Pure Storage IPO In Context | website=TechCrunch | date=October 18, 2015 | url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/10/18/the-pure-storage-ipo-in-context/ | accessdate=May 19, 2018}} Pure Storage sold 100 devices its first year of commercial production in 2012 and 1,000 devices in 2014.{{cite web |date=February 27, 2024 |title=Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Program |url=https://www.purestorage.com/company/corporate-social-responsibility.html |accessdate=February 27, 2024 |website=Pure Storage, Inc}} By late 2014, Pure Storage had 750 employees.{{cite web | last=Kim | first=Eugene | title=How A Five-Year-Old Startup Is Winning Deals Over A Huge $60 Billion Company | website=Business Insider | date=November 23, 2014 | url=http://www.businessinsider.com/pure-storage-president-david-hatfield-we-beat-emc-75-percent-of-the-time-2014-11 | accessdate=May 19, 2018}} Although it was growing, the company was not profitable. It lost $180 million in 2014.{{cite web | last=Kim | first=Eugene | title=A big tech IPO flopped and now the company is worth less than when it was private | website=Business Insider | date=October 7, 2015 | url=http://www.businessinsider.com/pure-storage-ipo-close-below-3-billion-2015-10 | accessdate=May 19, 2018}}

In 2013, EMC sued Pure Storage and 44 of its employees who were former EMC employees, alleging theft of EMC's intellectual property.{{cite web | last=Bort | first=Julie | title=Startup Pure Storage Hired 44 Employees From EMC — And EMC Is Suing | website=Business Insider | date=November 6, 2013 | url=http://www.businessinsider.com/emc-sues-pure-storage-over-44-employees-2013-11 | accessdate=May 19, 2018}}{{cite web | first=Caroline |last=Donnelly|title=EMC claims Pure Storage stole trade secrets and staff in lawsuit | website=IT PRO | date=November 6, 2013 | url=http://itpro.co.uk/go/20967 | accessdate=May 19, 2018}} EMC also claimed that Pure Storage infringed some of their patents. Pure Storage counter-sued, alleging that EMC illegally obtained a Pure Storage appliance for reverse engineering purposes.{{cite web | last=Lawson | first=Stephen | title=Flash startup Pure Storage fights EMC in trade-secrets battle | website=PCWorld | date=November 27, 2013 | url=https://www.pcworld.com/article/2067720/flash-startup-pure-storage-fights-emc-in-tradesecrets-battle.html | accessdate=May 19, 2018}} In 2016, a jury initially awarded $14 million to EMC.{{cite web | title=EMC, Pure Storage Both Claim Victory in Patent Decision | website=Fortune | date=March 16, 2016 | url=http://fortune.com/2016/03/16/emc-scores-point-in-patent-battle/ | accessdate=May 19, 2018|first=Barb|last=Darrow}} A judge reversed the award and ordered a new trial to determine whether the EMC patent at issue was valid.{{cite web | last=Bray | first=Hiawatha | title=Pure Storage spanks EMC in court | website=BostonGlobe.com | date=September 2, 2016 | url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/09/02/pure-storage-spanks-emc-court/WtjcYnCAzpEslCyLLm9bCN/story.html | accessdate=May 19, 2018}}{{cite news | last=Clark | first=Don | title=Pure Storage Wins New Trial in EMC Patent Case | newspaper=The Wall Street Journal | date=September 2, 2016 | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/pure-storage-wins-new-trial-in-emc-patent-case-1472846130 | accessdate=May 19, 2018}} Pure Storage and EMC subsequently settled the case for $30 million.{{cite web | last=Ray | first=Tiernan | title=Pure Storage Rising: Settlement with EMC a Positive, Says Wells | website=Barron's | date=October 19, 2016 | url=https://www.barrons.com/articles/pure-storage-settles-with-emc-a-positive-says-wells-1476901414 | accessdate=May 19, 2018}}{{cite news | last=Clark | first=Don | title=Pure Storage, Dell Settle Litigation Launched by EMC | newspaper=The Wall Street Journal | date=October 19, 2016 | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/pure-storage-dell-settle-litigation-launched-by-emc-1476895663 | accessdate=May 19, 2018}}

Pure Storage filed a notification of its intent to go public with the Securities Exchange Commission in August 2015.{{cite news | first=Jonathan|last=Vanian|title=Fast-rising startup Pure Storage files for an IPO | newspaper=Fortune | date=August 12, 2015 | url=http://fortune.com/2015/08/12/pure-storage-ipo/ | accessdate=May 19, 2018}} That October, 25 million shares were sold for a total of $425 million.{{cite news | last1=Driebusch | first1=Corrie | last2=Demos | first2=Telis | title=Pure Storage Ends Below IPO Price in Market Debut | newspaper=The Wall Street Journal | date=October 7, 2015 | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/pure-storage-trades-below-ipo-price-in-market-debut-1444227780 | accessdate=May 19, 2018}} The company hosted its first annual user conference in 2016.{{cite web | title=No risk of Pure Storage being acquired | website=CRN | date=March 21, 2016 | first=Hannah|last=Breeze| url=https://www.channelweb.co.uk/crn-uk/news/2451823/no-risk-of-pure-storage-being-acquired-analyst | accessdate=May 19, 2018}} The following year, the Board of Directors appointed Charles Giancarlo as CEO, replacing Scott Dietzen.{{cite web | last=Condon | first=Stephanie | title=Pure Storage names new CEO | website=ZDNet | date=August 18, 2014 | url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/pure-storage-names-new-ceo/ | accessdate=May 19, 2018}} In 2017 (2018 fiscal year), Pure Storage was profitable for the first time{{cite web | last=Kovar | first=Joseph F. | title=Pure Storage Reports 48 Percent Revenue Growth As Full Year Sales Pass $1 Billion | website=CRN | date=February 1, 2018 | url=http://www.crn.com/news/storage/300100106/pure-storage-reports-48-percent-revenue-growth-as-full-year-sales-pass-1-billion.htm | accessdate=May 19, 2018}} and surpassed $1 billion in annual revenue.{{cite web | last=Condon | first=Stephanie | title=Pure Storage surpasses $1B in annual sales | website=ZDNet | date=April 5, 2017 | url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/pure-storage-surpasses-1-billion-in-annual-sales/ | accessdate=May 19, 2018}} In Nov 2024, Pure Storage was one of the investors in the AI oriented cloud provider CoreWeave's secondary share sale.{{Cite web |last=Novet |first=Jordan |date=2024-11-13 |title=AI startup CoreWeave closes $650 million secondary share sale, with Cisco joining as investor |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/13/cisco-and-pure-storage-bet-on-coreweave-in-650-million-secondary-sale.html |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=CNBC |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Pure Storage Partners with CoreWeave to Enhance AI Cloud Infrastructure |url=https://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/pure-storage-partners-with-coreweave-to-enhance-ai-cloud-infrastructure/ |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=HPCwire |language=en-US}}

Acquisitions

In August 2018, Pure Storage made its first acquisition with the purchase of a data deduplication software company called StorReduce,{{cite web | last=Gagliordi | first=Natalie | title=Pure Storage buys StorReduce in first ever acquisition | website=ZDNet | date=August 1, 2018 | url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/pure-storage-buys-storreduce-in-first-ever-acquisition/ | access-date=October 1, 2018}} for $25 million.{{cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1474432/000162828018011594/pstg-q2fy2019x10q.htm|title=Pure Storage Quarterly Report|date=August 24, 2018|access-date=December 4, 2018}} In April the following year, they announced a definitive agreement for an undisclosed amount to acquire Compuverde, a software-based file storage company.{{cite web | last=Dignan | first=Larry | title=Pure Storage buys Compuverde to expand hybrid cloud storage | website=ZDNet | date=March 27, 2018 | url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/pure-storage-buys-compuverde-to-expand-hybrid-cloud-storage/ | access-date=April 9, 2019}}

In September 2020, Pure Storage acquired Portworx, a provider of cloud-native storage and data-management platform based on Kubernetes, for $370 million.{{Cite web|title=Pure Storage acquires data service platform Portworx for $370M|url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/09/16/pure-storage-acquires-data-service-platform-portworx-for-370m/|access-date=2020-09-17|website=TechCrunch|date=16 September 2020 |language=en-US}}

Products

Pure Storage develops all-flash storage arrays as an alternative to traditional hard disk drives and hybrid disk/flash systems.{{cite web | last=Lewis | first=Sarah | title=What is Pure Storage? | website=Storage | date=March 27, 2024 | url=https://www.techtarget.com/searchstorage/definition/Pure-Storage | access-date=June 11, 2024}} The company started out as a hardware/software vendor, but over time added more subscription-based services.{{cite web | last=Burt | first=Jeffrey | title=Pure Storage Breaks into Storage-as-Code, Data Services | website=The Next Platform | date=September 29, 2021 | url=https://www.nextplatform.com/2021/09/29/pure-storage-breaks-into-storage-as-code-data-services/ | access-date=June 11, 2024}}{{cite web | title=Pure1, Evergreen expand self-service and data protection | website=TechTarget | date=March 6, 2024 | url=https://www.techtarget.com/searchstorage/news/366572522/Pure1-expands-self-service-and-data-protection | access-date=June 11, 2024}} Pure Storage develops its own software and flash storage hardware{{cite web | first=Alex |last= Konrad|title= $3 Billion Startup Pure Storage Moves Into Hardware, Announces 'Evergreen' Sale Model | website=Forbes | date=May 1, 2015 | url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2015/06/01/pure-storage-moves-into-hardware-announces-evergreen-sale-model/#7c7da7de278f | accessdate=May 19, 2018}} and uses its own operating system called Purity.{{cite web | last=Mellor | first=Chris | title=Pure Storage updates FlashArray Purity OS – Blocks and Files | website=Blocks and Files | date=April 26, 2023 | url=https://blocksandfiles.com/2023/04/26/pure-flasharray-purity-os/ | access-date=June 11, 2024}} Its various families of hardware/software products are optimized for different applications, such as artificial intelligence, cloud-native applications, backup storage, and databases.

Pure Storage released its first hardware/software products, the FlashArray family, in 2011. This was followed by the Evergreen family of subscription services in 2015{{cite web | last=Mellor | first=Chris | title=Pure Storage reworks Evergreen subscription service – Blocks and Files | website=Blocks and Files | date=June 8, 2022 | url=https://blocksandfiles.com/2022/06/08/pure-storage-evergreen-rework/ | access-date=June 11, 2024}} and the FlashBlade product family in 2016.{{citation|title=IDC MarketScape: Worldwide All-Flash Array 2017 Vendor Assessment|first=Eric|last=Burgener|publisher=IDC|date=December 2017}} The operating system was expanded with a set of features called Fusion in 2021, which optimizes storage automatically across storage arrays.{{cite web | title=Pure Storage adds automated storage API, databases on demand | website=Storage | date=September 28, 2021 | url=https://www.techtarget.com/searchstorage/news/252507243/Pure-Storage-adds-automated-storage-API-databases-on-demand | access-date=June 11, 2024}}{{cite web | title=Pure deepens Fusion as reorientation to storage for AI continues | website=ComputerWeekly.com | date=June 19, 2024 | url=https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366589553/Pure-deepens-Fusion-as-re-orientation-to-storage-for-AI-continues | access-date=July 2, 2024}}

Data Breach

In 2024, PureStorage suffered a data breach and extortion attempt as part of the 2024 Snowflake mass hacking campaign. The data stolen included customer and internal system information, and did not include PII for any of its customers.{{Cite magazine |last=Burgess |first=Matt |title=The Snowflake Attack May Be Turning Into One of the Largest Data Breaches Ever |url=https://www.wired.com/story/snowflake-breach-advanced-auto-parts-lendingtree/ |access-date=2025-01-05 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}