The following Press Release is from peHub.
FamilyLink.com recently raised $2.85 million in Series B funding as social networking services continue to grow even during difficult economic times. FamilyLink.com raised its initial round of funding of $1.25 million in August 2007.
Several Series A investors joined the Series B funding round, including vSpring Capital and TTP Capital Advisors of Japan. Several other angel investors joined in the B round.
FamilyLink.com is the developer of “We’re Related,” one of the most popular applications on Facebook. We’re Related is used by nearly a million people every day. The company’s flagship social networking site will launch later this quarter at FamilyLink.com.
“Social networking with family and friends is growing faster than any other online activity,” said CEO Paul B. Allen. “Research shows that protecting the family is the top human value in most nations. Technology enables families to keep in touch despite distance, and we think this desire to stay in touch will only deepen in hard economic times.”
FamilyLink.com turned profitable in late 2008 as it was finalizing its fund-raising efforts. The company employs 30 people in the U.S., including in Seattle, WA, Boulder, CO, and its headquarters in Provo, Utah, and has development offices in India and the Philippines.
The company’s goal is to become the global leader in family social networking on all social networks and mobile platforms. The FamilyLink.com, Inc. network of sites became one of the Top 500 Web companies in the world in December 2008, based on Quantcast statistics. Currently the network ranks at #165 based on total monthly unique visitors, making the company one of the fastest growing web properties in the world.
View Quantcast ranking and traffic estimates for FamilyLink.com
Unlike other social networks, FamilyLink uses family trees and genealogy as a key ingredient in creating engagement in its social networking experience for families. The company owns WorldVitalRecords.com, a popular genealogy subscription site, and later this year will introduce its flagship genealogy web site, GenSeek.com.
“We think GenSeek will become the world’s largest gateway to family history content,” explained Steve Nickle, President. “Combined with our family social networks, it will make it easier than ever before for family members to explore and share their heritage with all of their relatives. Our historic partnership with FamilySearch Catalog will enable us to launch GenSeek.com with links to millions of the world’s most valuable genealogy sources.”
About FamilyLink.com, Inc.
FamilyLink.com, Inc. is the leading social networking company for families globally. It was formed in 2006 by original founding executives of Ancestry.com and MyFamily.com. The company operates several genealogy web sites and has popular applications on Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5, and Friendster. The company’s We’re Related application is currently the third most popular application on Facebook and has helped users define more than 150 million family relationships. FamilyLink.com, Inc. also operates the AdMazing ad network that represents more than 200 million monthly impressions on high traffic family history and heritage sites. Genealogy partners include Everton, brightsolid, Statute of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Genealogical Publishing Company, FindAGrave.com, Godfrey Memorial Library, and FamilySearch.
See an additional article in the Feb 25, 2009 edition of the Salt Lake Tribune.