Europe’s Digg Killer Raises €4 million
With a €4 Million Series A financing, Luxembourg based Wikio increased leadership in Europe's user-generated news sector.
The company combines both editorial and consumer ranking services to provide a balanced, yet diverse information portal. However, Europe's numerous language barriers are slowing Wikio's rise to the status of U.S. counterparts Digg and Technorati.
Linking to media sites outside of Wikio's coverage is problematic without a built-in translation service, and prohibits the global view desired by users. Although Wikio still trails U.S. competitors, the service is developing European traction with a reported 600,000 French users and 100,000 Italian users. Wikio also operates sites in Spain and Germany.
Founder Pierre Chappaz recognizes the impact of language barriers on Wikio's success. "Obviously Wikio.com's largest market is the U.S. and I would be delighted if Wikio takes a large market share in the U.S. but our main focus is still Europe," says Chappaz. "We are aware that we have a lot of work in front of us, but I'd appreciate an honest feed back as we are here to listen to users and offer them the best information service."
Lightspeed Venture Partners and Gemini Israel Funds collaborated on the Series A Financing. Menlo Park based Lightspeed Venture Partners adds Wikio to an Internet and E-commerce portfolio already including search engines, shopping, advertising, and marketing. The firms regularly partner through Lightspeed Gemini Internet Lab (LGiLab) - a joint venture dedicated to seed investment in very early stage internet start-ups.
4 votes
