BlogHer, the "community for women who blog," raises $7M more
BlogHer , a content network for "women who blog,” has raised $7 million more in a third round of financing, giving it a treasure chest to keep it through the downturn as it seeks to become profitable next year.
The Redwood City, Calif., company has now raised $15.5 million, according to AllThingsD, which reported on the funding . There are several other players gunning for the women’s content and ad market, including established companies like AOL Living, but also Real Girls Media Network , Glam , and Sugar . Both RGM and Glam have raised money recently to expand. Last year, BlogHer allied with a larger women-focused network called iVillage, si gning a content and ad deal with it . It’s not clear how the advertising relationship with iVillage will work going forward.
CEO Lisa Stone told AllThingsD that the company plans to expand its ad network and "invest" in advertising technology. The company, founded four years ago, has 30 employees and also runs a conference. It says it reaches 14 million unique visitors a month.
The new round includes two existing investors, Venrock and the Peacock Equity, a fund run by GE (GE) and its NBC Universal unit (NBCU owns iVillage). Azure Capital is joining as a new investor.
Stone said the site’s growth was the impetus for the new round. She said she also wanted to use the money to improve tools offered to the community’s 2,500 vetted bloggers as well as to invest in better research.
Stone says the company isn’t profitable but hopes to be by next year.
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Matt launched VentureBeat in September of 2006, with the realization that no one else was covering the entrepreneurial and tech innovation scene with the velocity or depth that he was. Prior to founding VentureBeat, he covered venture capital for the San Jose Mercury News from 2001 to 2006. In 2002, Matt was awarded "Journalist of the Year" by the Northern California Society of Professional Journalists. Prior to working at the Merc, he was a correspondent for the Wall Street Journal in Bonn, Germany from 1995 to 1998, and a writer for the Washington Post in 1994. Matt holds a PhD in Government and an MA in German and European Studies from Georgetown University. In addition to VentureBeat, Matt is also the Executive Producer of DEMO, the leading launchpad event for emerging technologies.
