LinkedIn Corp., which operates a social networking site, putting it in competition with the likes of Facebook and MySpace, said Wednesday that it has raised $53 million in a venture round.
The financing round values LinkedIn, which caters primarily to business and professional users, at about $1 billion.
The networking site had about 8.7 million unique users in April, compared with 58.8 million unique visitors at MySpace, acquired for $580 million in July 2005 by News Corp., which owns MarketWatch, and 22.5 million at Facebook, according to Nielsen figures. Late last year, Microsoft Corp. invested $246 million for a 1.6% stake in Facebook that implied a total value of about $15 billion for that company.
While its traffic is far below the two social-networking leaders, LinkedIn is seeing strong growth. April traffic was up more than 360% from the same period last year, compared with a 56% gain at Facebook and only 3% in gains at MySpace, according to Nielsen data.
"Unlike other online networks, user engagement on LinkedIn actually increases over time, a strong testament to the ongoing value that LinkedIn members derive from the experience," Jeffrey Glass, partner at Bain Capital Ventures, said in a statement Wednesday.
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