Box.net / Aaron Levie
Online file storage services have not just seen huge adoption, but providers of such services have been innovating constantly to attract more developers. Combine this with the fact that traditional enterprise software vendors are not fast enough to respond to the changing dynamics in enterprise software. All this makes for a good opportunity for one of the vendors to step in and pave the path to drive innovation. Box.Net is on mission to provide exactly that with its Box.net API . It hopes that its new developer community and $2 million integration fund will help. Box.net wants developers to not just use its storage services, but also make it easier for developers to use it on popular cloud platforms and developer tools.
Box.net Puts Up $2 Million Integration Fund for New Developer Network
Decked out in black jeans, a purple shirt, black jacket and orange Puma tennis shoes, Box.net co-founder and CEO Aaron Levie lived up to his billing as a rising star in the tech world at today’s Venture Alpha conference in San Francisco. Interviewed by Alastair Goldfisher, acting editor of Thomson Reuters’ Venture Capital Journal , Levie was able to dodge some questions while giving humorous rapid-fire responses. When asked, for example, what he would have done if he had been approached with a $100 million-plus buyout offer from Steve Jobs – like competitor DropBox – he quickly replied: “I’d probably be being peeing my pants if I were talking to Steve Jobs.
Aaron Levie Dazzles Venture Alpha Crowd, Talks Mark Cuban, Steve Jobs and Rapid Growth of Box.net
By Aaron Levie, contributor FORTUNE -- Fans of Clayton Christensen's "Innovator's Dilemma" will be unsurprised that the formula is still alive and well, even in 2011. Yes, apparently innovation still matters. To see the original effect in action, look no further than your desktop. How much desktop software do you generally use on a daily basis? Now, compare that to how many services you -- and your company -- are using in the cloud, delivered over the web.
Is the cloud the ultimate disruptive innovation?
Photo Elliott Burr/Town Crier Box.net co-founder Dylan Smith stands in front of the former Rambus Inc. headquarters on El Camino Real in Los Altos, which Box employees will occupy by the end of the year. Cloud-computing bellwether Box.net, currently based in Palo Alto, will pack a few boxes of its own before year’s end as it moves its growing headquarters into the Los Altos building that Rambus Inc. vacated in 2010. Dylan Smith, Box’s 25-year-old co-founder and chief financial officer, said the company, which could in a few years trump the 550-staff Los Altos School District as the city’s largest employer, selected 4440 El Camino Real because its executives “really liked the area overall.” “This is central to where people live – it’s a hub of technology,” said Smith, a Duke University graduate who established the company in 2005 with friend and now-CEO Aaron Levie.
Los Altos Town Crier - Box.net cloud bursts into former Rambus HQ
Box.net opens big bag of cash
Enterprise cloud storage company Box.net is raising new venture capital funding at a pre-money valuation north of $500 million, Fortune has learned. The company first disclosed the round earlier today in a regulatory filing, which showed that it had secured $18.6 million of a $35 million Series D-1 round. A source familiar with the situation says that the $18.6 million comes from insiders plus one new investor, while the company is still deciding on which new investors to bring in for the remainder. He adds that Box.net chose to make this a Series D-1 round rather than a Series E round in order to maintain existing voting rights. Box.net previously raised $45 million in Series D funding six months ago, although $10 million of that amount was a credit line that the company has not yet tapped.
Cloud storage provider Box.net spurns $500M offer (exclusive)
Cloud storage provider Box.net rejected a $500 million offer to purchase the company, multiple sources have confirmed to VentureBeat. Turning down a $500 million acquisition offer isn’t necessarily a bad move for a hot company like Box.net, because it could suggest the company is desirable and attract other, richer offers. Box.net chief executive Aaron Levie did not comment on the reports.
By PUI-WING TAM And AMIR EFRATI As venture capitalists scramble to get a piece of Silicon Valley's new Web boom, entrepreneurs like Aaron Levie are finding they have the upper hand. The Wall Street Journal's list of the top 50 startup companies of 2011 is just out.
Founders Gain Clout in Venture World
VC-backed Box.net yesterday hired tech veteran Dan Levin as COO in, perhaps, what is another sign that the startup is headed for more growth. Levin, who was already a member of the board, was previously with Intuit. He joins the Box staff with a mission to keep the company’s growth headed in the right direction, co-founder and CEO Aaron Levie (pictured here) told me.
