Box.net seeks $35 million in new funding

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Cloud-storage and file-sharing company Box.net is raising $35 million in new funding, underscoring again the appeal of one of Silicon Valley's hottest investment areas.

According to a filing, the company, which focus on providing Internet-based document storage for business users, has already raised $18.7 million a group of seven unidentified backers.

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The company completed a $48 million funding round in February on top of $15 million last year and several earlier, smaller rounds. The new financing brings Box.net's total funding to $112.6 million.

Current backers include Meritech Capital Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Emergence Capital Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Scale Venture Partners, and US Venture Partners.

Venture-capital backers are placing increasing chunks of cash in cloud-computing companies as businesses and consumers step up their use of remote storage, which allows users to tap into their files, from video to music, from anywhere.

Major companies such as Amazon.com Inc, Google Inc, and Apple Inc are also making sizable investments in the area.

Box.net officials did not respond to requests for comment. At the time of their last funding round, they said they planned to use the cash to hire staff, expand the mobile base, line up new partners and expand overseas.

The company is also in the process of moving to larger headquarters in Los Altos, California, from Palo Alto, California.