Sharpcast Syncs With $10 Million Series AA Financing

Investors Sweet on SugarSync, Bullish on Consumer File Synchronization, Mobile Access and Cloud Storage

SAN MATEO, Calif. Sharpcast Inc., makers of the award-winning SugarSync online data back-up and storage, syncing and file sharing service, today announced the company has received $10 million in Series AA financing from Sigma Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Selby Ventures.

SugarSync has matured into a sophisticated, yet easy-to-use sync and store solution, said Laura Yecies, chief executive officer at Sharpcast. Consumers, with new netbooks and smartphones in hand, want to sync all their devices and back-up data online. SugarSync makes it happen. This funding will enable us to capitalize on this burgeoning market and continue to add great new features to SugarSync.

This company has the right product at the right time. With Laura also joining as CEO in December, we have high expectations for Sharpcast and are very pleased to be supporting its future success, said Andreas Stavropoulos, managing director at Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Sharpcast board member.

Innovation often emerges from a slow economic cycle. The differentiator that separates the market leaders is the viability of the business model, said Greg Gretsch, managing director at Sigma Partners and Sharpcast board member. Sharpcast is at that key transformational stage, and now will be perfectly positioned to lead the next upswing.

The market:

Three years ago, most people only had one or two Internet-enabled computers – perhaps a work laptop and a home PC. Then, with the arrival of the iPhone, the original promise behind smartphones (to be a sort of mini handheld computer) became an apparent reality. Now, netbooks are all the rage, as people look for a bridge solution between burdensome laptops and smartphones.

But with this new personal device network comes a big challenge: how do you keep all your files updated and available on all the devices, without constantly having to manually transfer date through USB sticks and self-emailing? How can you share photos with friends, stream music, or look up your latest tax filing? The answer is SugarSync.

SugarSync makes it easy. 1. Download the software on all devices. 2. On your main PC, select files, folders, photos, and music (plus much more) to be uploaded to dedicated, private and secure SugarSync online folders. 3. Once everything is uploaded, SugarSync will push the data to all your other devices.

As any file is changed on any device, SugarSync will instantaneously update the same file on all other devices, eliminating the need to be constantly swapping files or keeping track of various versions. Customers can also access any of their files anytime from any computer through a Web browser or smartphone.

As an added benefit, files are backed-up in the cloud in real time. So if a laptop is stolen, an iPhone left on the roof of a car, or an errant cup of coffee spilled, the data remains safe and easily restorable.

SugarSync not only syncs devices and stores data, it connects a person with their digital community. With SugarSync, people can easily and securely share files and photos with friends and family.

About Sharpcast:

Sharpcast is the leading pioneer in online data back-up/storage, synchronization and file sharing. With its flagship SugarSync service, Sharpcast helps people easily manage computer files and media such as photos and videos, and ensure that everything is accessible and available anytime, anywhere from any device (desktops, laptops, mobile devices or even securely through the Internet from any PC). The company was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in San Mateo, California. For more information please visit: www.sugarsync.com.

Source: Sharpcast Inc.