File-sharing platform Dropbox has confirmed some exciting news concerning its future. The service has managed to squeeze another massive round of funding from investors. Leading the money dumping was Index Ventures, though Dropbox managed to gain investments from other major companies, including Goldman Sachs. Supposedly the company was offered a 'nine-digit' sum by Apple, back in late 2009, though they refused to be bought out.
More food for thought comes from the company's proclamation that, for every three days, users save one billion files in total to the Dropbox servers. The company also claims to have surpassed 45,000,000 active users, and could as much as triple its userbase in the next year. Dropbox's main competitor, Box.net, also confirmed having raised a total capital of $162 million. However, the Box.net funds are considerably smaller than those of Dropbox. According to a source with TechCrunch the company could be worth up to $4 billion.
The company has reported that it intends to use the money for acquisitions, strategic partnerships, and adding new members to its development team to drive it further forwards. The official press release is as follows:
Dropbox Raises $250 Million in Series B Funding
More than 45 Million Users Saving One Billion Files Every Three Days
Dropbox, a service that lets people bring their documents, photos and videos everywhere and share them easily, announced today that it has completed a $250 million Series B financing. The company will use the funds to accelerate its rapid growth, make acquisitions, pursue strategic partnerships, and grow the team. Dropbox has more than 45 million users saving one billion files every three days, and is on track to triple its user base in 2011.
The financing was led by Index Ventures and includes participation from new investors Benchmark Capital, Goldman Sachs, Greylock Partners, Institutional Venture Partners, RIT Capital Partners, and Valiant Capital Partners. Early investors Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners, and Hadi and Ali Partovi also participated. Dropbox has received a total of $257.2 million in funding.
“Our goal has always been to build a service that hundreds of millions of people would love and trust. We’re inspired by the consumers and businesses who depend on Dropbox, and we will continue to make sure that the world’s devices, services, and apps work together seamlessly,” said Drew Houston, co-founder and CEO of Dropbox. “We’re thrilled to have such world-class investors joining forces with us.”
“We are delighted to have led this financing and believe Dropbox has the potential to become an iconic technology company,” said Danny Rimer, general partner at Index Ventures. “Over the past four years, Dropbox’s talented team has created a great service with a very strong business model, and we look forward to helping the company build upon this outstanding foundation.”
About Dropbox
The mission of Dropbox is to simplify life for people around the world. Dropbox lets people bring their docs, photos and videos everywhere and share them easily. The service has more than 45 million users in 175 countries saving one billion files every three days. Dropbox was founded in San Francisco in 2007 by Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi and has received a total of $257.2 million in funding.
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