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FILE OWC buys Open Drives to expand stack OWC, known for supplying extra storage, memory and SWS to M&E Apple users, is buying OpenDrives and its Atlas video and rich media storage management software and services. The addition of OpenDrives’ offerings expands OWC’s shared storage portfolio reach with the Atlas data storage and management platform, which it says “has been the preferred solution for leading Hollywood studios, post-production houses, and live broadcast networks since 2011, recognized for reliably handling the low-latency, high-throughput performance required for complex, data-intensive creative environments.” OWC CEO Larry O’Connor said: “OWC has always been about removing the barriers between people and their creative work. Bringing OpenDrives into OWC allows us to take that mission further by connecting the high-performance storage and workflow solutions our customers rely on with powerful software-defined data management services, giving customers a more seamless way to capture, create, collaborate, and access their content wherever their work takes them.” OpenDrives CEO Trevor Morgan said: ”OWC and OpenDrives share so much synergy; we couldn’t be more excited about this partnership. By acquiring and integrating OpenDrives’ Atlas, Astraeus, and Edge, OWC now offers an end-to-end data ecosystem—from plug-and-play edit bays to global enterprise pipelines handling uncompressed 8K/12K workflows across on-premises, edge, and hybrid cloud, and OpenDrives’ loyal customers can leverage OWC’s award-winning portfolio for their direct-attached and shared storage solutions, while expanding their archive and backup with even more cost-effective, widely recognized, and popular storage options.” OWC (Other World Computing) is a long-running, independent, creative professional-focused, private business. It was started up by O’Connor in Woodstock, Illinois, in 1988, when he was 14 years old. Over the next 37 years he grew the company into a business that specializes in computer hardware upgrades and accessories, particularly for Apple Mac and iPhone products, but also Windows PCs. OWC sells things like SSDs, RAM, external drives, Thunderbolt docks, enclosures, and so forth. With its Apple focus, its customers include creative professionals, such as photographers, video editors, and musicians, looking for fast-access storage and system expansion offerings to make their work easier. OWC has offices in Texas, Nevada and Woodstock, and two online stores; owc.com and macsales.com. Jellyfish is OWC’s family of shared NAS (network-attached storage) systems designed specifically for video and media teams. OWC acquired the original Jellyfish maker, LumaForge, in January 2021 and has continued to expand the line. OpenDrives OpenDrives was started up in 2011, by CEO Chad Knowles, Jeff Brue and Kyle Jackson. They were media and entertainment post-production professionals who wanted to provide high-performance storage and workflow products to M&E customers. Jackson left in 2015, becoming CEO at extended reality (XR) company Talespin in 2015. Brue has been the CEO at Illuscio, which is involve with storytelling and visual artistry, since 2017. Knowles resigned in 2020 to join Pixitmedia. It has had a number of CEOs since Knowles; David Buss (2019-2022), Izhar Sharon (2022-2024), Sean Lee (2024-January 2026), and Trevor Morgan who was promoted from COO in January this year. Lee’s tenure saw a shift from being a hardware-focused storage supplier to a software-led video data and workflow platform. OpenDrives took in $10 million in A-round funding in 2015, $20 million in a 2021 B-round, led by IAG Capital Partners, and an an unknown amount earlier this year when Morgan became CEO, taking total funding past $30 million. The new cash was to pay for OpenDrives’ strategic market growth as it expanded its software platform across media, sports, and enterprise video production teams worldwide, walking away from hardware. It launched Astraeus, its Kubernetes-based, cloud-native, private cloud data services offering, in November 2025, extending its core Atlas video data management product. Astraeus merged on-premises storage with the ability to provision and manage integrated data services like public cloud offerings. The Edge hybrid cloud-edge performance accelerator, providing local speed data access to distributed teams in edge locations was launched in April this year. Joel Whitley, Partner at VC investor IAG Capital Partners, which led the January 2026 funding round, said: “We could not be more optimistic about OpenDrives’ future in delivering the world’s leading video data management platform for media, entertainment, professional sports, and corporate video production teams.” Morgan said at the time: “With our business transformation behind us, we are well-positioned to expand the use of the OpenDrives platform to video production professionals across all industries and around the globe – wherever companies struggle with complex video, we are the solution partner of choice.” Eight months later OWC has acquired the company and its employees, bring its total headcount up to around 250 people. The acquisition cost was not revealed. Let OpenDrives investor Whitley have a final word: “OpenDrives has a long history of supporting creators, and we are very pleased that OWC shares that same vision and will continue OpenDrives’ legacy of providing the best products to creatives solving the hardest problems.” Jellyfish updates OWC will preview Jellyfish enhancements at IBC 2026 (RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14): - Jellyfish Connect 4 has an improved automatic setup process makes connecting and reconnecting Mac and PC workstations during productions faster, easier, and more seamless, - Enhanced Jellyfish Manager 3.2 and Jellyfish Media Manager 3.2, - Ultra high-speed SMB performance with ATTO SmartNICs and ThunderLink adapters. The OWC Jellyfish Manager 3.2 and Ultra High-speed SMB Performance for the Nomad are now generally available (GA). The Jellyfish Connect 4 and Media Manager 3.2 will be rolled out during Q4 2026. Bootnote OWC has been making expansive moves recently. It acquired PowerON Services, Inc., a supplier of IT asset disposition (ITAD), trade-in, reverse logistics, refurbishment, and technology value recovery services in June. The PowerOn acquisition is an enhancement to OWC’s SellYourMac.com (SYM), one of the world’s largest and most trusted purchasers and resellers of used Apple computers, iPhones, and iPads. In May this year OWC appointed M2M Direct as a UK distribution partner and also appointed Peter Airs s European Marketing Manager and is building up the company's European marketing presence, based on its existing EMEA operations, as part of OWC’s European growth strategy. OWC appointed a new CFO, Rob Steffens, in April. He is a former Marvel co-president/chief financial officer. At Marvel Entertainment, Steffens played a central role in transforming the company from a $100 million publicly traded business into a $4.5 billion acquisition by Disney, and then helping scale it into a $50 billion global entertainment powerhouse over the following decade.
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