Press Releases
Carbonite Secures $2.5M in Series A Financing from 3i, CommonAngels
Company Names 3i's Mikko Suonenlahti to Board
BOSTON, MA — February 24, 2006 — Carbonite, a provider of secure Internet-based backup for all PC and laptop owners, founded in 2005 by serial entrepreneur, David Friend, and seasoned technology executive, Jeff Flowers, announced today the completion of a $2.5M Series A investment round. Investors included venture-capital firm 3i and angel groups Common Angels and Keiretsu Forum. Mikko Suonenlahti, a partner at 3i, was named to the Carbonite board of directors. Funding will be used to expand the company's marketing efforts worldwide.
"This round was already fully funded when we met 3i," said David Friend, "and we weren't really looking to bring in a VC. However, we were so impressed with the international resources that 3i could bring to the table and their background in consumer technology that we agreed to restructure our round to make room for them. We are thrilled to have Mikko on our board and to be able to tap into 3i's considerable resources."
"This was an opportunity to invest with a proven team of entrepreneurs — Carbonite is the fifth company that David Friend and Jeff Flowers have founded together. Carbonite offers a compelling alternative to traditional methods of backing up files," added Mr. Suonenlahti. "Carbonite has come up with a way to make backing up your PC really simple and inexpensive. We think this kind of backup service will become as ubiquitous as virus protection or anti-spyware," said Mr. Suonenlahti.
Carbonite backup is available at www.carbonite.com and at Staples stores.
About Carbonite
Only a small fraction of computer users regularly back up their PCs. Boston-based Carbonite, the leading consumer online backup company, addresses this issue by providing safe, simple, inexpensive, automatic backup over the Internet for consumers and small businesses in over 80 countries.
Founded in 2005, Carbonite believes that computers users shouldn't have to think about backup. The company's mission is to provide an affordable, reliable, secure and easy-to-use solution for the mainstream computer user.
Carbonite is available to consumers and small business through several channels, including its Web site, retailers such as Staples and CompUSA, and hundreds of small resellers. For more information, please visit www.carbonite.com.
About 3i
3i is a world leader in private equity and venture capital. It focuses on Buyouts, Growth Capital and Venture Capital and invest across Europe, in the United States and in Asia Pacific. 3i's competitive advantage comes from an international network and the strength and breadth of its relationships in business. These underpin the value that 3i delivers to its portfolio and to shareholders.
In the 6 months to September 30, 2005, 3i achieved realizations of over £1bn and invested £835m, including co-investment funds, of which 3i's Venture Capital business invested £58m in early stage technology companies globally across four specialist sectors: communications, software, healthcare and electronics, semiconductors and advanced technologies ("ESAT").
Its portfolio of 200 companies includes Vonage (VOIP), Udex (RFID), Microsulis (medtech), EnOcean (energy) with successful realizations through Interhyp, dtms, RedDot, Element5, Bookham, CSR, Arakis, UbiNetics and many others.