Well, it's officially official: Following a wave of rumors and reports, Path just announced that it has raised more than $30 million in new funding.
"We are delighted to announce that last week we closed a significant round of funding with a new set of investor partners," CEO Dave Morin said in the press release. "It is important to us to work with investment partners who share common values around quality and building for the long term. Our 'Path' has only just begun, and we are looking forward to continuing to bring world-class design and simplicity to the world of mobile personal networking."
A month ago, our own Alexia Tsotsis wrote that Path was raising a Series B of between $25 million and $30 million at a $250 million valuation. Business Insider later reported that Redpoint was leading the round, and earlier today, AllThingsD's Liz Gannes said that it had confirmed the deal with sources.
However, despite all reports, follow-on reports, and follow-on follow ons, Path didn't make its official announcement until just now. The company says it will spend the money on international growth and user adoption. Redpoint is indeed leading the round. In a blog post explaining the investment, the firm writes:
With Path, the market and idea are equally compelling. Dave has re-imagined a world where mobile devices are the center of a person's social fabric. By building an extremely personal and mobile-centric social network, Dave has tapped into the essence of what people like to do with their devices day in and day out — stay connected and share experiences. By creating a network that is both impeccably designed and conveniently available in your pocket all the time, Path has created the first truly personal network that allows people to express themselves to their family and friends in ways they can't, or wouldn't, do anywhere else.
In covering the announcement, Gannes also notes that the language that Path and its backers use to describe the app has changed slightly, with the phrases "mobile personal networking" and "mobile-centric social network" taking center stage. When it launched its radically redesigned (and radically improved) app last November, it was pretty obviously a mobile social network, but Morin described it as a "journal that writes itself." You won't find the word "journal" in the new announcement (though it's still on the Path website).
Here's a list of the investors, including Virgin founder Richard Branson (!):
- Greylock Partners, David Sze
- Redpoint Ventures, Satish Dharmaraj
- Jerry Murdock
- Sir Richard Branson
- Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Chi-Hua Chien
- Index Ventures, Mike Volpi
- Mark Pincus
- Yuri Milner
- Allen & Company
We actually reported earlier that Branson was joining Morin's Slow Ventures, something that Morin denied — looks like we were right about Branson's involvement with Morin, but missed on the actual investment.
Path is the simple and private way to share life with close friends & family. Founded by Dave Morin, previously Co-Inventor of Platform and Connect at Facebook with Shawn Fanning, creator of Napster, and Dustin Mierau co-creator of Macster.
Redpoint Ventures has helped entrepreneurs build innovative businesses that defy convention, shape the future, and change the world. From early investments in industry pioneers like Netflix, TiVo, and Juniper to companies such as RightMedia, Zimbra, Heroku, LifeSize, Danger, Fortinet, and Pinwheel, we stand behind our entrepreneurs helping them go all the way to the top. With our deep experience and focus on quality, we offer entrepreneurs a culture and approach that values mutual respect, meaningful relationships, and...
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