Dropbox is paying $350 million to acquire Tigris Data, a cloud storage company whose technology could help power the company’s next steps in AI. The deal is expected to strengthen Dropbox’s infrastructure and support DBX Agent Cloud, a storage platform for businesses and developers building AI models and agents.
Storage designed for AI workloads
DBX Agent Cloud will initially offer object storage as a standalone product. Businesses will be able to buy that storage independently and use it with existing tools and applications built for Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service), which lets organizations store and retrieve large volumes of data.
Tigris provides cloud storage technology for storing and accessing data across different regions. Its platform automatically places data closer to the users and computing resources that need it. That approach is intended to reduce access times and improve performance.
For AI developers, storage is part of the infrastructure needed to build and operate models and agents. Dropbox’s planned offering would give those customers a way to purchase storage separately, while using tools and applications they already have. The acquisition brings Tigris’s storage capabilities into Dropbox’s effort to serve that market.
More AI features for Dropbox users
The infrastructure push comes alongside changes to Dropbox’s core product. Users will be able to ask AI to perform supported tasks using their files, choose between different AI models, and connect Dropbox content to third-party tools, including ChatGPT, Claude and Muse.
Dropbox also plans to expand DBX Agent Cloud so AI systems can work with different kinds of content, including documents, images, audio and video. Planned filesystem features would let AI agents manage files and maintain continuity across tasks and sessions.
Those capabilities point to a broader role for Dropbox files in AI workflows. The company describes an experience in which users can work with their stored content through AI, while agents can interact with files over time. The planned additions would extend the platform beyond its initial standalone object storage product.
Rollout and deal timeline
Dropbox says the updated experience has already reached more than 70,000 teams. The initial rollout is available to eligible Standard and Advanced customers in the U.S., U.K., and Australia, with broader availability planned for 2027.
The company told TechCrunch via email that the Tigris transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026. Dropbox also said it currently has no plans to reduce headcount as part of the acquisition. The company cut 9% of its global workforce last month, according to the source article’s reference to a WSJ report.
Tigris was founded by former Uber engineers who helped develop the ride-hailing company’s storage infrastructure. It raised $25 million in a Series A funding round last year. The source describes this acquisition as what appears to be Dropbox’s largest to date.
A continuing expansion through acquisitions
The Tigris deal is part of Dropbox’s broader effort to add AI capabilities. It has previously acquired AI-focused companies Reclaim.ai, Promoted.ai, and Mobius Labs.
With Tigris, Dropbox is adding cloud storage technology as it develops infrastructure for AI models and agents. The acquisition’s impact will depend in part on the transaction closing as expected and on how the company expands DBX Agent Cloud beyond its initial storage offering.