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Tumblr raises $85 million as growth continues

Company's total investment is now over $125 million, and many major venture-capital firms, including Sequoia Capital have an interest in the company.

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
Don Reisinger
2 min read

Microblogging provider Tumblr has raised $85 million in a new round of financing.

Greylock Partners and Insight Venture Partners led the financing round, according to a statement sent to CNET today. Virgin Group chief Richard Branson, along with Spark Capital and Sequoia Capital, also contributed to the round. Tumblr did not disclose its valuation, but the company said that it plans to use the cash to "continue to scale our business and give real focus to the further development of Tumblr."

The New York Times earlier reported on the story.

Tumblr's $85 million in new cash is a major step up in investment for the company. Prior to this round, the firm had raised about $40 million in several different rounds of financing. Its last major round came last November when it raised $30 million From Union Square Ventures and Spark Capital, among others.

Since its launch over four years ago, Tumblr has watched its growth rates soar. According to the Greylock Partners, Tumblr generates 13 billion page views each month. What's more, the company is closing in on 30 million blogs, and has seen over 45 million posts added to the site today alone. Recently, Tumblr announced that it reached 10 billion posts since its inception.

Nielsen earlier this month helped shed even more light on Tumblr's growth, saying that the company is an "emerging player in social media." In the past year alone, Nielsen said, Tumblr has nearly tripled its "audience."

Update at 6:49 a.m. PT to include Tumblr's statement.