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LinkedIn hits billion-dollar valuation
Ker-ching! For 'grown-up' social networking

By Caroline McCarthy

Published: Wednesday 18 June 2008

Business-networking site LinkedIn announced on Tuesday evening it had netted $53m in a Series D funding round led by Bain Capital Ventures and with participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital, Greylock Partners and Bessemer Ventures. CEO Dan Nye wrote in a blog post that this values the company at more than $1bn.

Rumours floated this spring that the company was aiming for a billion-dollar valuation on a new funding round, rather than seeking a buyer. Previously, the company had raised $27m. Chairman and co-founder Reid Hoffman has said that it is likely to go public unless an ideal buyer pops up.

LinkedIn is more profitable than most of the social-networking fray. The site currently has 23 million members, small compared with Facebook or MySpace. But its business focus - billionaire Bill Gates is proud of his profile - ensures LinkedIn rake in premium advertisers and charge reportedly $75 per thousand impressions.

LinkedIn has also continued to launch new features in the past year, like customised news and developer platform widgets.