Apple opens its massive wallet and buys Israeli flash memory maker Anobit for $500M, according to Reuters and the Calcalist financial daily.
While no official statement is yet available from the typically secretive Apple, further confirmation comes from an unlikely source-- the twitter account of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natenyahu, who says: "Welcome to Israel, Apple Inc. on your 1st acquisition here. I'm certain that you'll benefit from the fruit of the Israeli knowledge."
In addition to the purchase, Reuters says Apple is going to open an research and development operation in Israel, the first for the company outside the US.
The purchase makes sense for the company-- Apple is probably the biggest flash consumer in the world, using flash not only in mobile devices but also in data centres. Meanwhile Anobit works on solutions enhancing flash chip durability, including memory-signal processing and memory-processing error-correction algorithms.