Pinterest, the US-based social media platform backed by e-commerce firm Rakuten, has raised $150m from existing investors at a $12.3bn valuation, Bloomberg reported yesterday.
Pinterest operates a visual-based social network with 175 million monthly active users that essentially acts as an online scrapbook. It has recently focused on increasing monetision of its platform through links to e-commerce and through promoted ‘pins’ that connect users to specific products.
The funding was disclosed at the same as the company launched its first major advertising campaign, through billboards and native online marketing. It has also developed image recognition technology that can be used to better identify and search for products.
The round boosted Pinterest’s overall funding to about $1.25bn, and followed a series G round that valued it at $11bn, and which closed at $553m in mid-2015.
Wellington Management Company, Goldman Sachs, Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, FirstMark Capital, SV Angel, Valiant Capital Management and Fidelity Investments all took part in the series G round.
Rakuten invested in the company as part of a $100m round in 2012 that included Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners and FirstMark Capital, while SV Angel and Slow Ventures backed the company at earlier stages.