March 17, 2006; 02:55 AM
03.16.2006 - Six Apart, provider of the blogging software and services most often chosen by individuals, organizations and corporations, today announced a Series C preferred stock financing round of $12 million. The round was led by Focus Ventures, a leading expansion-stage venture capital firm that invests in emerging market leaders in key technology sectors, joined by Intel Capital. Prior round lead August Capital, also participated in the current round.
“Six Apart is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the tremendous growth in this market,” said Steve Bird, co-founder and general partner of Focus Ventures. “The company has global reach, a portfolio of leading brands and a diversified business model. We see extraordinary growth potential for Six Apart and believe it is poised to strengthen its leadership position.”
Six Apart is the maker of the Movable Type publishing platform, the TypePad hosted blogging service and LiveJournal, an online community organized around personal journals. In the last six months, Six Apart has expanded its product line, diversified its revenue streams, deepened its management team and significantly increased its user base worldwide.
Earlier this month, it announced an initiative to bring specialized tools and services to businesses with the announcement of TypePad Business Class and Movable Type Enterprise. It also announced the acquisition of SplashBlog, an innovative solution for mobile blogging from cell phones and PDAs. Later this year, Six Apart will launch a new service, code named Comet, which, along with LiveJournal, promises to bring blogging and social networking into the mainstream. Over 15 million people around the world use Six Apart’s blogging software and services and over 30 million visit its hosted sites every month.
“Six Apart is focused on the emerging blogging trend around the world,” said Mike Dierks, director of strategic investments at Intel Capital. “Their product set ranges from solutions for individuals all the way up to large enterprises and governments and shows great promise for future growth.”
About Six Apart
Six Apart Ltd. provides award-winning blogging software and services that change the way millions of individuals, organizations, and corporations connect and communicate across the world every day. Founded in 2002 by husband and wife team Ben Trott and Mena G. Trott, Six Apart has grown into a global company with its headquarters in San Francisco, CA, and offices in Europe and Japan. The company continues to lead in the blogging and social media industry with the Movable Type publishing platform, the TypePad hosted blogging service and LiveJournal, an online community organized around personal journals. For more information, visit the Six Apart corporate weblog at www.sixapart.com.
About Focus Ventures
Focus Ventures is the leading expansion stage venture capital firm that invests in emerging market leaders in the software, semiconductor and communications industries. Focus Ventures currently manages $570 million, having closed its first fund in October 1997 and Focus Ventures II in December 1999. Focus Ventures offers its portfolio companies access to high quality partners in Asia and an extensive network of resources focused specifically on driving top line revenue growth through customer introductions and by establishing distribution channels, joint ventures and licensing arrangements. Since the firm's inception, Focus Ventures has invested in 86 companies and has had 20 IPOs and seven acquisitions by public companies. A select number of portfolio companies that have gone public include: Active Software, Agile Software, Alteon WebSystems, BroadBase Software, Chordiant Software, Commerce One, Copper Mountain Networks, Corio, CoSine Communications, Interwoven, Loudcloud, Niku, Pixelworks, and Verisity. For more information on Focus Ventures visit www.focusventures.com.
About Intel Capital
Intel Capital, Intel’s venture capital organization, makes equity investments in innovative technology start-ups worldwide. Intel Capital invests in a broad range of companies offering hardware, software, and services targeting enterprise, home, mobility, health, and semiconductor manufacturing. Since 1991, Intel Capital has invested more than US$4 billion in over 1,000 companies spanning 30+ countries. During this time, about 160 portfolio companies have been acquired and another 150 have gone public on exchanges around the world. In 2005, Intel Capital invested about US$265 million in about 140 deals, with approximately 60% of funds invested outside the U.S. For more information, visit www.intelcapital.com.
About August Capital
Founded in 1995, August Capital is a leading venture capital firm that invests in entrepreneurial teams throughout the information technology market spectrum. With more than 50 years of combined venture capital experience and dozens of successful IPOs and public company board relationships, August Capital partners have financed technology companies with an aggregate market capitalization of more than one-half trillion dollars. www.augustcap.com
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