Mellanox Technologies
Corporate brand
UnclaimedIsraeli-American networking and interconnect company acquired by NVIDIA in 2020.
Last updated August 21, 2026
Overview
Mellanox Technologies was an Israeli-American fabless semiconductor and networking company focused on high-performance data movement. Founded in 1999 in Yokneam Illit by Eyal Waldman and a group of former Intel and Galileo Technology executives, the company initially developed networking integrated circuits and later expanded into complete interconnect systems for servers, storage platforms, cloud infrastructure, enterprise data centers, financial-services systems, and high-performance computing clusters. Its central technology areas were InfiniBand and Ethernet. Mellanox supplied host-channel adapters, network interface cards, switches, cables, optical interconnect components, silicon, and software. Its products were designed for environments in which throughput, low latency, congestion management, remote direct memory access, and efficient communication between computing nodes were important. InfiniBand products became particularly significant in supercomputing and clustered database installations, while Ethernet products broadened the company’s relevance in mainstream data-center and cloud deployments. The company raised venture financing in the early 2000s and completed an initial public offering on NASDAQ in 2007 under the symbol MLNX. It also traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange for a period before delisting there in 2013. Mellanox expanded through acquisitions, including Voltaire, Kotura, IPtronics, Integrity Project, and EZchip Semiconductor, adding switching, silicon photonics, software, optical-interconnect, network-processor, and multi-core processing capabilities. The company also acquired selected assets and personnel from XLoom Communications. Mellanox developed a broad product portfolio. ConnectX adapters and related silicon supported InfiniBand, Ethernet, and Virtual Protocol Interconnect operation. Quantum switches served high-performance InfiniBand fabrics, while Spectrum switches targeted Ethernet data-center networks. LinkX cables and transceivers connected servers, switches, and storage equipment across both protocol families. The company also promoted software and hardware features for RDMA, RDMA over Converged Ethernet, collective-communication acceleration, network virtualization, security, and storage traffic. During the late 2010s, Mellanox faced pressure from activist investor Starboard Value, which acquired a significant stake and criticized the company’s spending and governance. In January 2018 Mellanox ended development of a 1550-nanometer silicon-photonics program and announced a workforce reduction affecting approximately 100 U.S. employees. A contested board process followed, ultimately resulting in board changes involving Starboard nominees and a mutually supported director. NVIDIA announced an agreement to acquire Mellanox on March 11, 2019, after competition for the company reportedly included other major technology companies. The transaction was valued at $6.9 billion and received regulatory approvals in the United States, the European Union, and China. It closed on April 27, 2020. Mellanox was subsequently integrated into NVIDIA’s networking organization, and NVIDIA stopped using Mellanox as the principal brand for newly introduced networking products. Eyal Waldman, the company’s founder and long-serving chief executive, left in November 2020. The corporate entity therefore no longer operates as an independent public company, although technologies and product families developed under the Mellanox name continue within NVIDIA’s data-center networking portfolio.
History
Mellanox Technologies was established in May 1999 in Yokneam Illit, Israel, by Eyal Waldman and other former executives and engineers associated with Intel and Galileo Technology. Galileo was later acquired by Marvell Technology Group. Mellanox maintained its principal Israeli operations in Yokneam while also establishing financial and commercial activity in Santa Clara, California, reflecting its intended role as an international supplier to the semiconductor and data-center industries. The company raised its first major venture financing in the early 2000s. A financing round announced in 2002 was initially reported at approximately $56 million and was later expanded to about $64 million, with participation from investors including Intel, IBM, Sequoia Capital, and U.S. Venture Partners. Mellanox went public on NASDAQ in February 2007 under the symbol MLNX, raising approximately $102 million. It later obtained a Tel Aviv Stock Exchange listing, but delisted from that exchange in 2013 while remaining listed on NASDAQ. Mellanox began primarily as a developer of networking chips. By the end of the 2000s it had evolved into a supplier of more complete networking systems, combining internally developed silicon with adapters, switches, cables, and software. Its commercial focus centered on InfiniBand and Ethernet fabrics used in high-performance computing, clustered databases, storage, cloud systems, and enterprise data centers. Its semiconductor production was outsourced, including manufacturing by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. The company expanded its capabilities through a series of acquisitions. In 2011 it acquired Voltaire, adding data-center switching expertise. In 2013 it acquired assets and personnel from XLoom Communications and bought Kotura, a silicon-photonics company, as well as IPtronics, an optical-interconnect component designer. In 2014 it acquired Integrity Project to strengthen software connectivity, low-level development, real-time applications, and security capabilities. In 2016 it acquired EZchip Semiconductor, gaining network processors and multi-core processor technology associated with EZchip’s earlier acquisition of Tilera. Mellanox’s market presence grew in high-performance computing, where its InfiniBand equipment appeared in numerous TOP500 supercomputing installations. It also pursued Ethernet-based storage and data-center networking, including technologies supporting remote direct memory access and RDMA over Converged Ethernet. The company served international customers and operated offices or other activities in Israel, the United States, Denmark, China, Russia, Singapore, Taiwan, Japan, and the United Kingdom. Hewlett-Packard and Dell EMC were identified as major customers during the late 2010s. The business also became known for employing engineers from Palestinian technology communities. It worked with engineers in the West Bank through a Palestinian outsourcing firm and employed programmers in locations including Ramallah and Nablus, in addition to Israeli Arab and Israeli teams. Company leadership discussed the possibility of developing a research-and-development presence in Ramallah. In late 2017 Starboard Value acquired a 10.7 percent stake in Mellanox. Starboard subsequently criticized the company’s research-and-development spending and sought changes to its governance. In January 2018 Mellanox announced that it would stop its 1550-nanometer silicon-photonics development program, a decision it said followed an internal review begun in 2017. It also announced a reduction of approximately 100 U.S. positions. Starboard initiated a board contest, and in 2018 several directors agreed to step down, with replacements including Starboard-backed and jointly supported candidates. NVIDIA announced its agreement to purchase Mellanox on March 11, 2019, in a transaction valued at $6.9 billion. The acquisition was reviewed by antitrust authorities in the United States, the European Union, and China and closed on April 27, 2020. Mellanox was absorbed into NVIDIA’s networking division. NVIDIA subsequently used its own corporate branding for new networking products rather than continuing Mellanox as the primary product brand. Waldman left in November 2020, marking the end of the company’s independent corporate era.
- 2020
Acquisition closes
[1]NVIDIA completes the acquisition after regulatory approvals and integrates Mellanox into its networking organization.
- 2019
NVIDIA announces acquisition
[1]NVIDIA announces an agreement to acquire Mellanox for $6.9 billion.
- 2018
Silicon-photonics program discontinued
[1]Mellanox ends development of a 1550-nanometer silicon-photonics program and announces a U.S. workforce reduction.
- 2016
EZchip acquisition
[1]Mellanox acquires EZchip Semiconductor, adding network-processor and multi-core processor capabilities.
- 2014
Integrity Project acquisition
[1]The company acquires Integrity Project for software connectivity, low-level development, real-time applications, and security technology.
- 2013
Optical and photonics expansion
[1]Mellanox acquires selected XLoom assets and personnel and purchases Kotura and IPtronics to expand optical-interconnect capabilities.
- 2011
Voltaire acquisition
[1]Mellanox acquires Voltaire, strengthening its data-center switching portfolio.
- 2009
Expansion from chips to network systems
[1]Mellanox broadens its role from an integrated-circuit developer into a supplier of complete interconnect systems.
- 2007
NASDAQ initial public offering
[1]Mellanox completes an IPO on NASDAQ under the symbol MLNX, raising approximately $102 million.
- 2002
Major venture financing
[1]The company announces a venture financing round initially reported at approximately $56 million and later expanded to about $64 million.
Showing the 10 most recent.
Products and positioning
High-performance computing and data-center interconnect specialist emphasizing high bandwidth, low latency, RDMA, scalable switching, and converged InfiniBand-Ethernet infrastructure.
Network adapters and networking silicon
ConnectX
ConnectX was Mellanox’s principal family of multi-protocol adapters and ASICs. The architecture supported InfiniBand and Ethernet through Virtual Protocol Interconnect, allowing systems to use different fabric technologies with common hardware strategies. Later generations added capabilities such as high-speed connectivity, multi-host operation, Open vSwitch acceleration, RDMA support, and inline cryptographic processing. ConnectX products were used in servers, storage systems, cloud infrastructure, and high-performance computing clusters.
InfiniBand switches
Quantum
Quantum was Mellanox’s high-performance InfiniBand switch family for supercomputing and large-scale clustered systems. The platform was designed for high port density, high-bandwidth fabrics, and very low latency. Its feature set included SHARP collective-operation acceleration and SHIELD self-healing capabilities, intended to improve the efficiency and resilience of distributed computing workloads.
Ethernet switches
Spectrum
Spectrum comprised Ethernet switching silicon and systems for enterprise data centers, cloud environments, and converged infrastructure. The family extended Mellanox beyond its traditional InfiniBand strength and addressed high-throughput Ethernet fabrics used for compute, storage, and network virtualization. Spectrum switches were part of the company’s strategy to serve both specialized supercomputing installations and broader data-center markets.
Cables, transceivers, and optical interconnects
LinkX
LinkX covered cables, optical modules, transceivers, and related physical-layer connectivity products for InfiniBand and Ethernet networks. These components connected adapters, switches, servers, and storage equipment across multiple speeds and form factors. The portfolio supported Mellanox’s strategy of supplying a complete interconnect stack rather than limiting the business to silicon or endpoint adapters.
Data-processing units and infrastructure acceleration
BlueField
BlueField technology combined high-speed networking with programmable processing for infrastructure functions such as virtualization, storage, security, and data movement. It represented Mellanox’s move toward offloading data-center services from general-purpose CPUs. Following the acquisition, BlueField became part of NVIDIA’s broader data-processing-unit and accelerated-networking strategy.
Brand decisions
2019
Agreement to be acquired by NVIDIAM&ABackground
Mellanox was an attractive target because of its position in high-performance networking, InfiniBand, Ethernet, and data-center interconnects.
Action taken
NVIDIA announced an agreement to acquire Mellanox for $6.9 billion.
Aftermath
The transaction closed in April 2020 after regulatory approvals, and Mellanox was integrated into NVIDIA’s networking division.
Acquisition value. $6.9 billion transaction value (Announced March 2019; completed April 2020)
2018
End of 1550-nanometer silicon-photonics developmentStrategyBackground
Mellanox reviewed its silicon-photonics business amid pressure from Starboard Value to improve near-term profitability and reconsider research spending.
Action taken
The company discontinued its 1550-nanometer silicon-photonics development activities and announced a reduction of approximately 100 U.S. employees.
Aftermath
The decision narrowed the company’s internal development focus while it continued supplying networking, switching, and interconnect products.
Recent events
- 2020
NVIDIA completes acquisition of Mellanox[1]
M&A
The acquisition closed after antitrust approval in the United States, European Union, and China. Mellanox was integrated into NVIDIA’s networking business.
- 2020
Eyal Waldman leaves Mellanox after NVIDIA integration[1]
Leadership change
Founder and long-serving chief executive Eyal Waldman departed the company in November following its acquisition and integration into NVIDIA.
- 2019
Mellanox announces $6.9 billion acquisition agreement with NVIDIA[1]
M&A
NVIDIA announced its intention to acquire Mellanox in a transaction valued at $6.9 billion.
- 2018
Mellanox ends 1550-nanometer silicon-photonics development[1]
Other
Following a review of its silicon-photonics activities, Mellanox discontinued development of a 1550-nanometer program and announced a reduction affecting about 100 U.S. employees.
- 2018
Starboard Value challenges Mellanox governance and strategy[1]
Leadership change · Other
Activist investor Starboard Value pressed for changes to research spending, profitability priorities, and the board of directors. The dispute led to director departures and the appointment of Starboard-supported candidates.
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