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Drobo is a technology company.
Drobo manufactured external DAS, NAS, and SAN storage appliances, simplifying data protection and capacity management via proprietary technology. Systems featured flexible, hot-swappable hard drives for easy expansion and robust data redundancy, making advanced storage accessible without complex setups. The company’s offerings brought high-end storage capabilities to a broader user base, minimizing technical barriers.
Founded May 2005 in San Jose, California, as Data Robotics, it was co-founded by Geoff Barrall, Julian Terry, and Ken Rosen. Recognizing storage complexity, their insight led to intelligent, self-managing systems. These aimed to democratize autonomous data protection and scalable storage for professionals and small businesses, addressing an underserved market with intuitive solutions.
Drobo’s products served creative professionals, prosumers, and small to medium-sized businesses needing reliable, expandable storage. Its vision centered on intuitive data management and protection, ensuring digital assets remained secure and available. Drobo aimed to deliver a self-adapting storage experience, offering peace of mind via simplified data resilience, continually meeting evolving data needs.
Drobo has raised $55.0M across 6 funding rounds.
Drobo has raised $55.0M in total across 6 funding rounds.
Drobo is a hardware company best known for easy-to-use external storage appliances (DAS/NAS/SAN) that abstract RAID complexity for consumers, prosumers and small businesses. Its products emphasized automated capacity expansion, hot‑swapping and data protection with a simple user experience, though the company has faced financial and operational challenges over the years.[2][1]
High-Level Overview
Origin Story
Core Differentiators
Role in the Broader Tech Landscape
Quick Take & Future Outlook
Quick reiteration: Drobo made a lasting contribution by proving there was demand for automated, user‑friendly multi‑drive storage, but operational and market challenges since the 2010s have left its long‑term commercial viability uncertain.[1][2][3]
Drobo has raised $55.0M in total across 6 funding rounds.
Drobo's investors include Peter Richards, Eric Gonzales, East West Bank, Kevin McQuillan, Greylock, Forest Baskett, Scott Sandell, New Enterprise Associates, RRE Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures.
Drobo has raised $55.0M across 6 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $8.0M Debt / Other Equity in October 2017.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 26, 2017 | $8.0M Debt / Other Equity | Peter Richards, Eric Gonzales | East West Bank |
| Sep 29, 2015 | $4.0M Debt | East West Bank | |
| Oct 1, 2009 | $10.0M Series E | Kevin McQuillan | Greylock, Forest Baskett, Scott Sandell, New Enterprise Associates, RRE Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures |
| Sep 1, 2008 | $15.0M Series D | Greylock, Forest Baskett, Scott Sandell, New Enterprise Associates, RRE Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures | |
| Jul 1, 2006 | $12.0M Series B | Greylock, Forest Baskett, Scott Sandell, New Enterprise Associates, RRE Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures | |
| Oct 1, 2005 | $6.0M Series A | RRE Ventures |