Dropbox files for IPO, to raise $500 million
File syncing service Dropbox has filed for an initial public offering (IPO). The company aims to raise $500 million for its cloud-based file storage and collaboration service. The company will trade on NASDAQ under the symbol DBX. This has piqued the interest of investors and industry experts alike since it's the first big tech IPO of 2018.
Dropbox has 11 million paying users
The San Francisco-based company was last valued at $10 billion. Owing to its user-friendly services, it currently has over 500 million registered users, 11 million of whom are paid subscribers. This has doubled from 2016 when Dropbox had 6.5 million paying users. According to the company, 90% of its revenue comes from individual users who purchase a subscription of their own accord.
The company has been able to increasingly control its loss
In the last three years, its revenue has increased from $603 million to $1.1 billion. Even though Dropbox is still running in loss, the amount of that loss percentage has been falling from $326 million in 2015 to $111.7 million in 2017.
It directly competes with Google, Microsoft on file storage services
Launched in 2008, Dropbox had instantly kicked off due to the ease of file syncing that was possible on the platform. However, the company does face heavy competition. Tech giants like Google and Microsoft are its direct competition with their respective cloud file storage and collaboration software. These are offered as productivity suite packages, making users more likely to opt for them.
The venture capitalists who believe in Dropbox
Dropbox is backed by top-tier investors like Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners, Accel, Institutional Venture Partners, JP Morgan, and Goldman Sachs. In its last round in 2014, the company raised $350 million. In total, it has so far raised $1.7 billion in equity and debt financing.
