TC50: iTwin allows encrypted, cableless file-sharing

September 14, 2009 | Kim-Mai Cutler | Comments | |

itwiniTwin, one of the startups launching at the TechCrunch50 conference in San Francisco today, is a hardware product that wirelessly allows two computers to share encrypted data from anywhere in the world. The founders call it a “cableless cable” because it connects two computers, without an actual cable.

You plug in one half to one computer and the other to another computer. After it syncs a private key, you can share files between machines even if one part of the pair is on the other side of the world. The founders say there’s no need to download software, configure settings or use a log-in ID.

If you lose the device, you can text iTwin to turn off the other half or you can set a password between the two. The company gets around company firewalls by sending the encrypted data through iTwin’s back-end.

The company’s planning to retail the device for $99. It has seven employees and is part of the Singapore government’s research arm. It’s looking for investments to spin it off as a separate company.

Investor feedback

Ron Conway, angel investor: I would consider it if they had some distributors.

George Zachary, Charles River Ventures: I would want to learn more about the intellectual property behind it.

Jason Hirschhorn, chief product officer at MySpace: Cool technology. Retail’s tough.

Click here for more startup news coming out of the TechCrunch50 conference today.

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About the Author, Kim-Mai Cutler

Kim-Mai was born and raised a stone's throw from Apple headquarters in Cupertino by a devout Hewlett-Packard family. After attending UC Berkeley, Kim-Mai worked for Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires in New York, Los Angeles, London and Buenos Aires. Follow her on Twitter at @kimmaicutler, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.

  • asowe
    needing internet access is not exactly cable-less ..... and why not just use shared folders, if in xp, vista ..
  • I guess we will keep on using a cheap $15 USB Memory stick for file exchange.
  • Mike Riley
    Asowe, you must know you cannot share folders over different networks unless you set up a VPN or similar virtual network. So across the street or around the world, this is a good answer.

    Leadseexplorer, you can't assume that a $15 USB memory key is going to be big enough for everyone's file transfers; you also can't assume that those are the only conditions under which this would be used. How about accessing your friend's DVD drive 5,000 miles away. Further, again you're not seeing that this isn't a "walk over and pass it along" scenario: the product allows you to SKIP physical transferance, and be anywhere... on a different network.
  • Mike Riley: Thanks - the 5,000 miles issue wasn't mentioned in the article.
  • itwin is a good one for using file sharing. But its a costly one though.
  • Malcolm Lui
    I get this exact service for 'free' from my iptv dongles with security built in.
    All that for US$30.
    Plus I can watch TV from my home country. They will be dead in the time it takes to burn their VC moola, if they can find a VC crazy enough to pump in money.

    This device assumes too many things, a user will forget to bring a file but remember to bring the other half of the itwin. And remember to remove it from the remote PC.
    A person who cannot remember password. Okay. Who do I write the cheque to?

    Disrupt the storage market - ha ha ha. Try transferring a few gig and you won't use this device anymore.