CloudOn

About CloudOn

CloudOn was an Israel-based startup founded in 2009 by Milind Gadekar, who envisioned making mobile information sharing easier even before the first iPad was released. The company developed a mobile and web-based application that provided users with a virtualized Microsoft Office suite, enabling them to create, edit, and share Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents on mobile devices, particularly tablets like the iPad. The app was designed with a gesture-based interface optimized for touchscreens, aiming for a clean, uncluttered workspace. It focused on the most frequently used functions of Microsoft Office, based on data indicating that users only utilized a small fraction of the desktop software's total features.

The business operated in the mobile productivity market, targeting users who needed to work with Microsoft Office documents on the go. Its service was integrated with major cloud storage providers, including Dropbox, Google Drive, Box, and Microsoft's own OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive), where users' files were stored. This allowed for seamless access and synchronization of documents across multiple platforms. CloudOn's revenue model included subscriptions, and the company successfully raised a total of $26.14 million in funding over several rounds from investors such as Foundation Capital, Rembrandt Venture Partners, and Social Capital.

By early 2015, CloudOn had amassed 9 million users and was recognized as a top 10 productivity app in 120 countries. In January 2015, Dropbox acquired CloudOn for an undisclosed sum. Following the acquisition, the entire CloudOn team joined Dropbox, and CloudOn's engineering hub in Herzliya, Israel, became a new base for Dropbox in the region. The CloudOn service was subsequently shut down on March 15, 2015, as the team's focus shifted to developing products internally at Dropbox, particularly after Dropbox had formed a partnership with Microsoft to improve Office document editing within its own platform.