Nyriad Inc., a startup that develops data center storage hardware powered by graphics cards, is seeking a buyer.

The development was first reported on Friday by Blocks and Files, which cited a memo from Nyriad Chief Executive Derek Dicker. The company confirmed that it’s exploring a sale in a statement to CRN today. It has taken steps to cut costs while the process is ongoing.

San Francisco-based Nyriad launched in 2014 and went on to raise more than $60 million in venture funding. Its flagship product is UltraIO, a disk storage system with a maximum capacity of 3.3 petabytes. Nyriad says the appliance can read and write up to 20 gigabits of data per second.

Data center storage systems typically use central processing units to ingest information. The UltraIO, in contrast, includes a mix of CPUs and graphics processing units. Nyriad says that this arrangement allows the system to more effectively implement erasure coding, an industry-standard data protection method, and thereby reduce the risk of information loss. 

A typical storage appliance includes upwards of dozens of disk or flash drives. With erasure coding, the appliance can split a file into multiple fragments and store each fragment in a separate drive. If some of the drivers malfunction and the information they contain is lost, the file can be recovered from the fragments that are still accessible.

Running erasure coding algorithms requires a significant amount of computing capacity. According to Nyriad, storage systems that only include CPUs often struggle to provide the necessary processing power. As a result, such systems don’t make the most out of their erasure coding algorithms, which increases the risk of data loss.

The UltraIO system’s GPU-centric design aims to address the challenge. According to Nyriad, the built-in graphics cards’ processing power allows the system to perform erasure coding more effectively than traditional appliances. The result, the company says, is a fivefold increase in data resilience.

Nyriad made UltraIO generally available in late 2022 and reportedly received orders from several customers. Last June, the company announced plans to raise fresh funding in a bid to advance its commercialization efforts. Nyriad reportedly secured more than $12 million of the $10 million to $14 million it had hoped to receive, but the fundraising talks fell through.

The company cited long sales cycles as another factor behind its decision to seek a sale. According to Nyriad, the challenge was exacerbated by last year’s Hollywood strikes, which affected potential customers in the media and entertainment sector.

It’s seeking to sell either some or all its assets. As part of the effort, Nyriad last week released an investor document that outlines its technology’s value proposition. It hopes to draw interest from potential buyers by Feb. 21.  

Image: Nyriad