Online Backup Provider Backblaze Raises $5 Million

Backblaze, a leading online backup provider, announced today they have inked a deal with TMT Investments Plc to obtain $5 million in equity funding. Backblaze is already profitable and growing quickly and this funding will be used to accelerate hiring for product development, global marketing, and partnerships. To date, Backblaze has been primarily self-funded with the TMT investment being the first venture funding taken by the company. TMT Investments was established in 2010 for the purpose of making investments in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications sector, with specific emphasis on internet-based businesses. It funds companies operating in high growth areas that have a potential to become multinational businesses. (Note: CloudTimes also uses Backblaze for their backups).

The hallmark of the Backblaze service is how easy it is to set-up and use. There is no need to select which files to back up as all data is continuously and automatically backed up, and Backblaze provides unlimited cloud storage for backing up files, including connected external drives. If data is lost via a hard drive crash, a stolen or lost system, or a file or folder being accidently deleted, that data can be safely and easily restored for free from a web browser. Users also have the option of having their data sent on a USB flash drive or an external hard drive for an additional charge. The Backblaze service also includes the “Locate My Computer” feature that assists in locating a stolen or lost system.

In an exclusive statement to CloudTimes, Gleb Budman CEO and co-founder of Backblaze, said ”Cloud backup is a billion dollar business but has been stunted by the lack of three main things:

1. Truly easy solutions that don’t require understanding file systems.
2. Inexpensive, unlimited solutions that do not have a variety of gotchas.
3. Broad awareness of such solutions.

At Backblaze we built a service that backed up all data automatically without asking the user to pick files and folders. It was merely $5/month for completely unlimited data. And it has grown through word-of-mouth to a scale where Backblaze stores nearly 40 petabytes of data for our customers (about 1/2 to 1/3 of the total amount of data that Facebook stores).

However, with 90% of people still not backing up their computers, we have a long way to go. We believe we have the right solution. With this additional funding, we will pursue broadening the awareness of Backblaze online backup globally with the goal of eliminating the cry of “I wish I had backed up” forever.”

Founded in 2007, Backblaze stores nearly 40,000,000 GB of data for its customers on its own purpose-built cloud storage system. The company backs up 100,000,000 files per day and in 2011 recovered 600,000,000 files for its customers. The online backup service is localized in 11 languages and backs up customers in over 100 countries.