Although many investors are shying away from Web 2.0 companies that don't generate revenue yet, social blogging site
Tumblr Inc. will ride out the current cycle with
$4.5 million in new capital from its insider investors. Union Square Ventures and Spark Capital led the round, which follows a $775,000 first round last year. John Borthwick of Betaworks, another Tumblr investor, has joined the company's board of directors as well.
Founded in 2007 by youthful entrepreneur
David Karp, Tumblr combines elements of traditional blogging, Twitter-ish microblogging and multimedia file sharing. The company says it will introduce a premium service early in 2009, which will generate its first revenues, and will also explore "refining Tumblr as a developer platform."
Other stakeholders in Tumblr include Vimeo founder Jakob Lodwick, former Del.icio.us president Albert Wenger and serial entrepreneur Martin Varsavsky.
- Paul BonanosFor more, see
TechmemeSee Jan. 18 post from Tech Confidential featuring David Karp interviewSee May 2 post from Tech Confidential profiling Betaworks
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