Dropbox joins the AI race with $50 million to back startups
In a world where AI is taking over everything from ordering pizza to predicting your future pet’s name, Dropbox has decided to join the party.
The renowned cloud storage provider has set its sights on the fast-paced world of generative AI with the launch of Dropbox Ventures, a brand new venture fund with a whopping $50 million in its coffers. This development marks Dropbox’s first venture arm, aiming to provide financial support and mentorship to startups in the AI space that are poised to revolutionize the future of work.
In a press release, Dropbox emphasized its commitment to empowering entrepreneurs and fostering innovation by investing in AI-powered products to “shape the future of work.” The company envisions a future where artificial intelligence becomes an integral part of everyday work processes, and through Dropbox Ventures, they aim to fuel this transformative journey.
The surge in AI investments by venture capitalists (VCs) in recent years has been remarkable, and Dropbox is determined not to be left behind. According to market data from GlobalData, AI startups have secured a staggering $52 billion in funding across more than 3,300 deals in the past year alone. The exponential growth and potential of generative AI have largely been responsible for this enormous influx of capital.
Dropbox joins the ranks of other corporate giants such as Salesforce Ventures and Workday, who have also invested heavily in the AI space. Salesforce Ventures, the VC division of Salesforce, plans to inject a colossal $500 million into startups developing generative AI technologies. Similarly, Workday has recently allocated an additional $250 million to their existing VC fund specifically dedicated to backing AI and machine learning startups. Even OpenAI, the company responsible for the popular chatbot ChatGPT, has raised an impressive $175 million fund earmarked for investment in AI startups.
Dropbox simultaneously announced new AI-powered features for its flagship cloud storage product. One of the standout additions is Dropbox Dash, a “universal” search bar that can seamlessly scan across tools, content, and apps from third-party platforms like Google Workspace, Microsoft Outlook, Salesforce, and Notion. With the ability to learn, evolve, and improve over time, Dash aims to streamline user content discovery and organization.
But that’s not all — Dash is set to become even more intelligent in the near future. Dropbox envisions a day when Dash can tap into users’ personal and company information to answer questions and surface relevant content using generative AI.
“You won’t need to sift through all your company’s internal links and pages to find out when the next company holiday is — you’ll just be able to ask Dash and get an answer, fast,” the company wrote in a blog post.
The company is also coming out with Dropbox AI which boasts the ability to summarize and extract valuable information from files stored within Dropbox accounts. This program can review documents, generate concise summaries, and preview video.
At its initial launch, Dropbox AI primarily focused on file previews. However, the company plans to expand its capabilities to encompass entire folders and even entire Dropbox accounts. Yet, given AI’s occasional propensity for unexpected behaviors, some may question the accuracy and reliability of Dropbox AI’s summaries. To allay these concerns, Dropbox has reaffirmed its commitment to developing AI technologies that are fair, reliable, and privacy-conscious.
“In this next era of AI, it’s more important than ever that we protect our customers’ privacy, act transparently, and limit bias in our AI technologies,” stated Dropbox.
Dropbox Dash is currently available in English to a select group of customers as part of a beta testing phase. Meanwhile, Dropbox AI for file previews is already in the alpha stage and accessible to all Dropbox Pro customers in the United States, with plans for a subsequent rollout to select Dropbox Teams.
