Fusion-io

Fusion-io founder David Flynn was the first to capitalize on the potential of Flash memory technology in enterprise systems, and built a category-defining business in the process. Webscale operators were some of the first to realize the value, and companies like Facebook and Apple became massive Fusion-io customers. The company reset the course for the storage industry, paving the way for the likes of Nimble Storage, Pure Storage and of course the imitative efforts of the incumbents. Fusion-io went public in 2011 and was subsequently acquired by Flash technology pioneer SanDisk.