The Cloud Wars Rage On: Dropbox Raises Mega Money as Box Has Reportedly Filed for IPO
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Keeping your head in the clouds has become a multi-billion dollar proposition. And Silicon Valley is practically tripping over itself to invest in the burgeoning space.
After weeks upon weeks of speculation and rumors, cloud-storage company ‘s latest mega raise is finally confirmed. San-Francisco based disclosing that the company has inked a deal worth as much as $450 million.
, and was led by BlackRock, Morgan Stanley and T. Rowe Price and Associates, according to venture-capital industry deal book CrunchBase. CrunchBase priced the round at $350 million because Dropbox has reportedly opted to secure another $25 million as part of the round, but will hold the line there, despite having the option to pull down as much as another $125 million.
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, it has also been staffing up aggressively. Just last week, Dropbox announced that .
The timing of Dropbox’s mega raise is notable because it’s just weeks after . The Box filing is under wraps thanks to a new regulation passed as part of the JOBS Act — or Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act — allowing companies with annual revenue of less than $1 billion to file their initial public offering prospectus with the SEC confidentially. (If you remember, the option for confidential filing was how Twitter got its IPO process started.)
. The Los Altos, Calif.-headquartered company secured $100 million in funding — its sixth raise, or in VC jargon, its Series F — in December led by Itochu Technology Ventures, Mitsui & Co, Telefónica Digital, Telstra, Macnica Networks Corp. and DFJ Growth, according to CrunchBase.
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That would be going public was not really in question. Nor is it for Dropbox. The Silicon Valley cloud-based storage rivals Dropbox and Box both have scores of venture capitalists nipping at their heels, anxious for a return on their investment. That is, after all, what makes the venture capital industry go round.
As Dropbox and Box stay at each other’s necks, it’ll be curious to see whether being bigger or first is the better IPO strategy.
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Keeping your head in the clouds has become a multi-billion dollar proposition. And Silicon Valley is practically tripping over itself to invest in the burgeoning space.
After weeks upon weeks of speculation and rumors, cloud-storage company ‘s latest mega raise is finally confirmed. San-Francisco based disclosing that the company has inked a deal worth as much as $450 million.
, and was led by BlackRock, Morgan Stanley and T. Rowe Price and Associates, according to venture-capital industry deal book CrunchBase. CrunchBase priced the round at $350 million because Dropbox has reportedly opted to secure another $25 million as part of the round, but will hold the line there, despite having the option to pull down as much as another $125 million.
