Friendster raises $10 million more; Facebook valued at $500M?

August 21, 2006 | Matt Marshall | Comments | |
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Friendster, the early social-networking company that got overtaken by companies like MySpace and Facebook, isn’t giving up.

Its traffic is recovering, even if it is still behind the leaders. And its backers are steadfast: Kleiner Perkins and Benchmark, the two Silicon Valley venture firms that originally invested in the company, are joining DAG Ventures, to invest $10 million more into the company, according to the WSJ today.

In the piece, the company doesn’t reveal much new in terms of strategy. As already signaled, it intends to focus on adults in their 20s and 30s instead of competing to attract younger audiences.

The investment comes after a recapitalize it with $3.1 million investment earlier this year.

Also of note: The WSJ story says: “Facebook, of Palo Alto, raised $25 million in a third round of financing in April that valued the company at $500 million, according to a person familiar with the matter.”

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Matt Marshall is editor and CEO of VentureBeat. Follow him on Twitter at @mmarshall, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.

  • In the Know
    Facebook's valuation was actually more like $750MM. Which implies that the investors are looking for an exit valuation of ~$3-4Bn. Could that be what's behind their opening up to corporations and high schools in a stab to grab as many users as MySpace? In the process they've begun to piss off their core constituency (college kids). Valuation-driven business strategy NEVER succeeds....
  • lol
  • lol