PALO ALTO, Calif. & LE MONT-SUR-LAUSANNE, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--nivio today announced it has secured $21 million in funding, hot on the heels of its US launch at Macworld|iWorld. The investment will support nivio's mission to bring the magic back to computing, by expanding engineering efforts in nivio's Palo Alto office and further roll-out of the cloud platform across nivio's operating regions in Europe, Middle East, India and Australia.
The round was completed by Videocon (& Group Companies), a $5 billion conglomerate headquartered in India, and AEC Partners, a boutique private equity firm in Kansas City with specialized holdings in telecommunications and technology.
“We are extremely happy to bring two new passionate investors into our team,” said Sachin Dev Duggal, founder and chief wizard at nivio. “We’re also very proud that nivio has successfully delivered 7x returns to some of our angels in this round. The support we’ve received from our angels over the last seven years has been unparalleled and without their support we would not have gotten this far.”
The funding announcement comes at a time when the market for cloud desktop computing is rapidly expanding. With the surge in tablet adoption, millions of people need the freedom to use Microsoft® Windows®, desktop apps and synchronized storage, working seamlessly across any screen. At nivio, users can access a full Microsoft OS in the cloud, when and where they need it, on any flavor of tablet, laptop, or PC, with files synced seamlessly.
“I have been involved with nivio for three years and have seen it grow from a visionary idea to a breakthrough product that is now poised to make a major impact. In that time, the Company has assembled a world class management team that is leading its launch in the US, the world's most demanding computer market,” said Adrian Cox, a nivio Board Member and previous Executive Vice President and CEO of Ask.com Europe.
nivio sets the standard for cloud desktop performance with a downloadable, rich client experience for any device. nivio's clients for iOS, Android, Windows and Mac will be available later this month along with the Ubiquity™ client, which delivers the entire desktop over any HTML5 browser. The Ubiquity client delivers the Windows OS and productivity software (such as Microsoft Office®) from nivio's Cloud to any device, eliminating the need for users to download anything. nivio's App Store lets users rent regular desktop software on any screen, and the nDrive provides 10GB of free storage into which they drop their files and have them synced across their devices.
Beyond nivio’s product vision, the Company's painted picture is heavily focused on culture, with a view to creating a company that’s both innovative and a sexy place to work in the coming years.
“With a strong and vibrant culture, the job of the CEO or Chief Wizard is fairly straight-forward: paint the universe, bring in a team of all stars and then just keep them shining bright,” said nivio Founder, Sachin Dev Duggal, when asked about why culture and magic go hand in hand.
Stay tuned - 2012 is the year your desktop moves to the cloud; the year you find your freedom.
Users may visit www.nivio.com for more information or to pre-register for the free beta trial. For a limited time, registrants who recommend Facebook friends into the trial will receive preferential ranking for their beta start date. See www.nivio.com for details.
About nivio
nivio is a global start-up providing always-on access to desktop applications, data and a familiar Windows environment from anywhere in the world, on almost any device, Mac or PC, android tablet or iPad, notebook or netbook.
nivio’s game-changing business model enables subscribers to pay only for what they need, when they need it. nivio’s integrated technology platform with unique IP maximizes capacity, availability and flexibility, while minimizing latency for both storage and application access through an easy-to-use app store. For more information, visit www.nivio.com.
nivio was founded by two best friends who aim to educate 100 million children over the course of 50 years with their foundation, Sachin & Saurabh. This is what started the journey and what the team at nivio calls their enabled vision. In 2011, the duo paired up with Alicia Keys and her organization, Keep a Child Alive (KCA), for the eighth annual Black Ball NY to raise $3.5 million for children and families affected by HIV/AIDS.