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Twitter worth $3.7billion
Social networking site Twitter is worth $2.7bn more than it was just a year ago, according to a new valuation
By Matt Warman, Consumer Technology Editor
A new round of fundraising has valued Twitter at $3.7 bn. Just a year ago the site was valued at $1 bn, and although the site is now making considerable revenues it is not yet profitable.
A total of $200 m was invested during a round that was led by John Doerr, the Kleiner Perkins partner who invested early on in the development of both Amazon and Google.
The increased valuation indicates increased investor confidence in Twitter’s chances of making money in the future. Although new Chief Executive Dick Costolo has been criticised for lacking a coherent strategy for future growth, the site has already introduced a new system of “Promoted Tweets” to allow advertising without radically altering the user experience.
Founder Evan Williams had said that 2010 would be mostly dedicated to developing a profitable strategy. Sponsored tweets have seen a higher level of success than on many equivalent sites, Twitter said. Up to 8 per cent engage consumers in some form.
The valuation is also a further indication of increasing market confidence in dotcom companies. Google was rumoured to be close to paying $6 bn for social commerce site Groupon earlier this month.
It has been observed, however, that as John Doerr is also on Google’s board, the new investment indicates that a Google bid for Twitter is unlikely.
