Path, a startup with an unusual take on mobile photo sharing, just announced that it has raised $8.65 million in its first round of institutional funding.
Path was co-founded by Napster creator Shawn Fanning, former Facebook executive Dave Morin, and Dustin Mierau, so ita4a4s no surprise that the company enlisted high-profile backers &8212' prestigious venture firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield &038' Byers (which has been making a big push to invest in social networking startups) and Index Ventures.
San Francisco-based Path calls its iOS app a a4Apersonal networka4, because ita4a4s supposed to help you interact with you family members and close friends, not the looser connections found on Facebook. (In fact, you cana4a4t include more than 50 people in your network.) Path allows you to share photos and videos, then see whoa4a4s looking at a photo at a given moment, and also signal how a photo makes you feel.
In addition to announcing the funding, Path also said that more than 2 million moments (read: photos and videos) have been shared on the app. And it&'s unveiling a feature that makes it possible to share content with friends who don&'t have the Path app &8212' you email your connections directly through.
Path previously raised $2.5 million from Index, First Round Capital, Founders Fund, and a number of angel investors. Kleinera4a4s Chi-Hua Chien and an Indexa4a4s Mike Volpi are joining Patha4a4s board of directors, as is Mierau (previously the board was just Morin and Fanning).
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Companies: Index Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield &' Byers, Path
People: Chi Hua Chien, Dave Morin, Dustin Mierau, Mike Volpi, Shawn Fanning
Companies: Index Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield &' Byers, Path
People: Chi Hua Chien, Dave Morin, Dustin Mierau, Mike Volpi, Shawn Fanning
Anthony is a senior editor at VentureBeat, as well as its reporter on media, advertising, and social networks. Before joining the site in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. (All story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com) You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.
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