Automattic, the US-based company that owns blogging platform WordPress, has raised a $160m series C round at a $1.16bn valuation, according to a blog post from CEO Matt Mullenweg.
Private equity firm Insight Venture Partners led the round, which also included Lowercase Capital founder Chris Sacca and a special vehicle that earlier investor True Ventures formed to increase its investment, as well as Tiger Global Management and Iconiq Capital, both of which made secondary investments in Automattic in 2013.
The funding is the company’s first since 2008, when it closed a $29.5m series B round that featured media company New York Times, Polaris Partners and Radar Partners alongside True Ventures. CNET, now a subsidiary of CBS, was also an investor in Automattic’s $1.1m series A round.
Mullenweg told Re/Code that the cash will be used to grow the business, increasing its workforce, which now numbers about 240, and to invest further in marketing.
Reports last month stated that Automattic was raising a funding round that could reach $150m, but the round ended up outstripping that estimate. However, Mullenweg stated that there will be a second close to the round soon, leading on from a level of interest he claimed was “significantly above” what it raised.