- In 2016, Airbnb bought Minbox, a tool for syncing files across cloud storage services like Google Drive and Dropbox, an Airbnb spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider.
- The previously unreported purchase was one of several quiet acquisitions by Airbnb in 2016.
- Airbnb did not say how much it acquired Minbox for or how it has integrated Minbox’s team and technology.
- Airbnb has acquired more than two dozen startups in its journey toward becoming a public company, which it said it plans to do in 2020.
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Airbnb, in a previously unreported May 2016 transaction, bought a small cloud service startup called Minbox, an Airbnb spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider.
Minbox let users sync files across multiple cloud service providers like Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, Evernote, Slack and OneDrive. Started in 2013 by Alexander Mimran, Michael Lawlor, and Simon Fletcher, the company raised a seed round of $800,000 from Correlation Ventures, Rho Ventures, and other individual investors, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Airbnb did not disclose how much it paid for Minbox, what the terms were, or what happened to its team or product. However, it appears to be an “acqui-hire,” as Mimran and Lawlor both went on to work at Airbnb, according to their LinkedIn profiles, and the Minbox app is no longer available for download on its website.
Minbox is among several acquisitions made by Airbnb that the company has been relatively quiet about, in contrast to its purchases of companies like HotelTonight and Luxury Retreats. With Airbnb preparing to go public in 2020, investors will be paying close attention to how each of its more than 20 past purchases have paid off.
