SOCIALMEDIA NETWORKS INC. ATTRACTS $3.5MM IN SERIES A FUNDING
LED BY CHARLES RIVER VENTURES
SocialMedia to Use Financing to Expand its Advertising Network for Open Social Platforms
Mill Valley, CA – October 17, 2007 – SocialMedia Networks, the leading provider of social platform services, today announced that it has secured Series A financing of $3.5 million. The investment was led by Charles River Ventures, and additional investors include: Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape and Jeff Clavier, founder and managing partner of SoftTech VC.
SocialMedia Networks provides a comprehensive suite of tools and services for developers building applications that run on open social platforms, including Facebook and MySpace. By fusing social analytics, monetization, and promotion into one product, SocialMedia Networks is ushering in the era of ad networks and platforms. Developers of social applications take advantage of SocialMedia Networks services, and advertisers can use the proprietary self-serve marketplace to start and manage their campaigns 24/7.
“This investment underscores the significant opportunity for SocialMedia Networks to become the new standard for how social networks are monetized,” said George Zachary, a partner with Charles River Ventures. “SocialMedia Networks has demonstrated tremendous traction and will use these funds to develop its tools and services to become the first and largest application network.”
“On social platforms, everything needs a social context - even the advertising that runs through it,” said Seth Goldstein, CEO and co-founder of SocialMedia Networks. “Open social platforms are becoming the dominant marketing medium for reach and engagement on the Internet. SocialMedia Networks helps developers and advertisers flourish with engaging, viral and social formats.”
SocialMedia Networks series A financing came out of an initial investment through the Charles River Ventures QuickStart program, a seed funding program that allowed SocialMedia Networks to prototype its idea and test the market potential prior to series A financing.
Seth Goldstein will be speaking at the Web 2.0 Summit on the “Facebook As A Platform,” panel on Thursday, October 18th from, 9:35am - 10:15am at the San Francisco’s Palace Hotel in the Grand Ballroom.
About SocialMedia Networks INC
SocialMedia Networks provides advertisers and developers of social media applications with the ability to manage, market and monetize on open social platforms and leading social networks, such as Facebook and MySpace. The SocialMedia Networks analytics engine, known as Appsaholic, enables Facebook developers to track Facebook applications, buy installs, and sell installs on the SocialMedia network. Appsaholic is the industry standard for third party developers. For more information about Appsaholic, please visit http://apps.facebook.com/appsaholic/. SocialMedia Networks has learned what developers and advertisers need first-hand, having internally produced hit Facebook applications such as FoodFight (throw a virtual lobster at your buddy) and Happy Hour (send that buddy a cocktail), which have been installed by over 10 million individuals. SocialMedia Networks is based in Palo Alto and Mill Valley, CA. For more information about SocialMedia Networks, please visit www.socialmedia.com.
About Charles River Ventures
Founded in 1970, Charles River Ventures (CRV) is one of the oldest and most successful early-stage venture capital firms, with nearly $2B under management. CRV is dedicated to helping exceptional entrepreneurs turn their ideas into the next category leaders in the data communications and software and services sectors. The firm’s investment returns are consistently among the highest of any venture capital firms. This superior investment record includes leading companies such as Cascade, Chipcom, CIENA, iBasis, Sybase, Sonus Networks, SpeechWorks International and Vignette. CRV has offices in Boston and Menlo Park, Calif. For more information, visit www.crv.com.
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