Millionaires Minted: Palo Alto Startup Sold

Controlling the onslaught of email and its voracious demands on our time is a daily challenge. That challenge has been met by Mailbox, an app designed by Palo Alto startup Orchestra.

Even though it was just rolled-out last month, it already has more than a million customers on its wait-list. That caught the attention of some deep-pocketed suitors. On Friday, Orchestra was bought by Dropbox.

Officially, the purchase price was not disclosed, but tech bloggers worked their sources and soon published their findings.  According to TechCrunch, the purchase price was a cool $100 million in cash and stock.

Orchestra CEO and co-founder Gentry Underwood told the Los Angeles Times, "We want to give Mailbox to everyone who wants it, and there are a lot of people who want it. We could raise more money and hire a bigger team but joining Dropbox gives us the opportunity to scale more quickly."

According to the Wall Street Journal, all 13 employees of Orchestra will join Dropbox. “We felt we could help Mailbox reach a much different audience much faster,” said Dropbox CEO Drew Houston, who said both companies shared the goal of making people’s lives easier.

Dropbox itself is growing rapidly. The San Francisco company is currently valued at around $4 billion. It’s up to 250 employees, from 100 at this time last year.

Orchestra is located at 459 Hamilton Ave., Suite 201.  The company is currently hiring engineers, designers, and communications professionals.  

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