Social network platform Ning has raised $44m (£22m) in a Series C round of funding, one of the largest social network funding rounds so far.
The Ning platform allows users to design, mashup and build web apps, including social networks. Some 73,650 social networks have been created on Ning's platform since it was launched in October 2004.
This third round of funding was led by Legg Mason with other investors participating, including Netscape founder Marc Andreessen. The $44m (£22m) round was based on a valuation of more than $200m (£99m).
The company had been privately financed, with Andreessen having previously invested around $9m (£4.5m).
"We will be investing that money in our business -- in scaling our operations to accommodate our traffic and growth; in our product design and development efforts; and in our platform evangelism and support programs. Apart from those investments, we plan on staying as lean and focused as we possibly can."
Since relaunching in February this year with a simplified platform, Ning has grown steadily. It currently has upwards of 5m monthly visitors.
Posted 10 July 2007 10:24am by Graham Charlton with 1 comment
Tags: Web 2.0, Social Media, Startups, Venture Capital
Topics: Business to Business, Social Networks & Online Communities
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Analyst forecast for 2009
Site review: Matalan
Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Online Advertising
10 July 2007 18:35PM
For another cool social network, check out www.nexo.com.
It provides group websites, group emailing and social networking all in one.