i-drive

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the online storage service. For the BMW vehicle control system, see idrive. For other uses, see iDrive (disambiguation).

i-drive logo

i-drive (formerly idrive.com, Anuvio) was an online storage service founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bonforte in December 1997. It enabled creation of online space that acted as a virtual drive for 'sideloading' – storing files such as MP3s collected on the Web without downloading them.

i-drive's assets were acquired by the EMC Corporation in 2002. Certain assets were also acquired by Pro Softnet Corp which also offers services in the field of online storage. At its height, i-drive hosted over 10 million registered users, employed 110 people, and held partnerships with MP3.com, ZDnet.com and 40 major universities. The service was rated as a "Top 5 Web Application" by CNET in 2000 and one of the "3 Top Technologies to Watch" by Fortune Magazine in 2000. The company raised over $30 million from venture capitalists such as Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Infinity Ventures, Global Retail Partners, Hikari (JP), Philips (NL), EMC, and Partners Group (CH).