Hootsuite’s enterprise momentum is ramping up. The Vancouver-based startup, known primarily for its social media management dashboards, announced Thursday that it has closed $60 million in financing. The latest round brings Hootsuite’s total financing to $250 million, with a valuation now rumored to reach $1 billion. “This financing will help us scale even faster on a global level and bring the most innovative products to market. The strong commitment from investors during this time of amazing growth marks an exciting milestone for Hootsuite,” said Ryan Holmes, CEO of Hootsuite, in a statement.
Hootsuite isn’t making money, but it’s not going away anytime soon either. The social media technology company said it has raised $60 million in financing, giving it more resources to fund its growth amid the continued frothy market for Internet companies. The Vancouver-based company, which makes tools that help companies write, monitor and react to postings on various social networks, said it raised the money mostly from existing investors such as Accel Partners, as well as an asset manager in Boston, whom Hootsuite declined to name. The move helps fill Hootsuite’s coffers and support expansion as more companies are using social media. Facebook in August capped a tour around the country in which it tried to educate small and medium-size businesses on the benefits of using its network. Facebook is also preparing to launch new advertising service based on Atlas, a technology Facebook bought from Microsoft last year. Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest have also built up advertising efforts. Hootsuite works with more than 35 social networks, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, helping companies track what people say about them on the Internet, as well as manage posts to various social media accounts. Hootsuite announced a new acquisition alongside the funding, a company called Zeetl that helps companies connect with social media users in other ways, such as over the phone. Hootsuite declined to say how much it agreed to pay for Zeetl.
