hi5 announced recently that it received $14 million in venture capital. The funding for the social entertainment site was led by Crosslink Capital, and Crosslink General Partner Jim Feuille will join the hi5 board of directors.
“hi5 is among the companies leading and defining the rapidly emerging social entertainment category, and this round will enable us to fully capitalize on what is already a massive market opportunity,” said Bill Gossman, CEO of hi5. “Crosslink has been at the forefront of this revolution with investments in Pandora and Like.com as well as successful public market experience with Omniture and Ancestry.com, so we are thrilled to have Jim’s expertise joining the company.”
hi5 will look to use this money to further expand into virtual goods and social gaming. hi5 already features its Coins virtual currency and gifts store, the Games channel and Stars animated avatars.
“The social entertainment category is experiencing explosive growth, and hi5 has the global audience, strategic vision and seasoned management team to be a significant long-term leader in this market,” said Feuille, who is also on the board of Pandora, and played a role in the transformation of its massive entertainment site. “hi5’s unique combination of social game mechanics, ownership of a social graph and a third-party game platform positions the company well for success.”
