Pure Storage, the all flash memory array start up had been evaluated in the billion dollar range with a closure of a USD150 million funding round concluded last Thursday. The company was founded by John Cosgrove and John Hayes and is currently based out of Mountain View, CA.

The funding round was spearheaded by T.Rowe Price together with Tiger Global Management. The two institutional investors was joined by Fidelity Financial in what is considered as one of the largest funding rounds in 2013 for a Silicon Valley start up. Pure Storage's previous investors include Greylock Partners, Samsung Ventures, Index Ventures, Redpoint Ventures and Sutter Hill Ventures.

The funding round also was deemed as one of the largest fundraisers in the burgeoning data storage industry. With the new infusion, the company's total take reached USD245 million. This puts Pure Storage well on its way to putting its shares for an IPO.

Pure Storage said the funds raised would be used to accelerate its expansion into the Asian and European markets. It would also be used to fund sales, support and marketing teams throughout the world as well as increase its capitalization for research and development.