Box, a US-based cloud storage provider, has raised a series E funding round of $100m, at a valuation approaching $2bn, with the participation of a number of corporate investors. The funding comprises commercial agreements and strategic investments from Japanese partners, Itochu Technology Ventures, the venture investment arm of general trading company Itochu, technology products and services company Macnica, and Mitsui USA and MKI, both subsidiaries of general trading company Mitsui, as well as strategic investments from Telefónica Digital, a unit of Spain-based telecom operator Telefónica, and Australia-based telecommunications company Telstra; venture capital firms Coatue, DST Global, and existing Box investors also participated.
Toshihisa Adachi, CEO, Itochu Technology, Ventures, said: “We’ve seen first-hand how a new wave of information technology is transforming every industry, from manufacturing to finance. We’re excited to work closely with Box as it brings its leading cloud platform to individuals, businesses and industries all over the world.”
Mark Sherman, Telstra Ventures managing director, said: “Box is a leading platform for the next generation of cloud software. With a focus on security and mobility for the enterprise and small business markets, Box provides customers an on the go solution that is simple to use. We’re excited to be working with them as they grow and expand into new markets, connecting businesses globally.”
Aaron Levie, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Box, said: “The combination of cloud and mobile technologies creates an entirely new way of working that will fundamentally reshape the IT industry. Our new partners will help us connect and work with businesses in key global markets as they manage this transition.”
Levie further explained in a blogpost: “This is a once-in-a-generation technology shift and an amazing opportunity for Box to help businesses everywhere navigate it. We’re excited to take what we’ve learned in the US and Europe and – combined with many insights from industry peers – apply it to new regions.
“Next up is Japan. As evidenced by the dramatic growth of Salesforce.com, Google Apps, and other cloud solutions in Japan ($3B will be spent on cloud solutions by 2017), there’s an incredible wave of IT transformation occurring. To lead our effort in Japan, I’m happy to share that we’ve hired a phenomenal leader, Katsunori Furuichi, who was most recently the president and chief executive officer of Verisign Japan. Katsunori is going to be an amazing part of the Box family (we agree on everything except for music, apparently Blink 182 never got very big in Japan). And to help us bring Box to mid-sized and large enterprises next year, we’ll be working with some of the biggest system integrators and trading companies in Japan, including Itochu, Macnica and Mitsui.
“Similarly, Telefónica and Telstra will be instrumental in bringing Box to Latin America and Australia, respectively.”