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"WatchDox, the Israeli startup that aims to compete against the likes of Dropbox and Box in the secure file-sharing space, backed by $24 million in venture capital, has acquired virtualization technology and mobile application firm InstallFree, according to a press release and a report from local business news site The Marker (both in Hebrew).\r\n\r\nUpdate: press release is now available in English.\r\n\r\nThe reporter from The Marker, however, seems to have missed a tiny bit of related news: the fact that InstallFree voluntarily shut down its cloud-based file sharing services a few weeks ago (see this message from InstallFree CEO and former Microsoft manager Rakesh Narasimhan):\r\n\r\nSeven months ago, we launched our InstallFree Nexus and Rndr platforms -- the first services of their kind that enabled users to work with full-featured Windows applications, and access their cloud-stored files, from any device with a web browser.\r\n\r\nUnfortunately, we have not been successful in turning these services into a sustainable business for our company and must therefore reconsider our strategy. While this process is going on, we must make the painful decision to shut down these services.\r\n\r\nInstead, InstallFree's services will be integrated into WatchDox's cross-platform file-sharing and collaboration solutions as a result of the latter's purchase of the company, and will become available in early 2013, according to a press statement.\r\n\r\nFinancial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it obviously doesn't concern a huge transaction, given that InstallFree had basically just called it quits.\r\n\r\nThe freshly acquired company had raised roughly $10 million from investors like Ignition Partners and Trilogy Equity Partners. \r\n\r\nImage credit: Thinkstock"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://thenextweb.com/insider/2012/12/11/aspiring-dropbox-rival-watchdox-acquires-installfree-after-the-latters-recent-implosion/>