Best Buy Leads Virtual World Venture Deal

IMVU Inc., a Palo Alto, Calif.-based online destination where adults and teens meet new people in 3D, has raised $10 million in Series D funding. Best Buy Capital led the round, and was joined by return backers Menlo Ventures, Allegis Capital and Bridgescale Partners.

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

IMVU Inc. (www.imvu.com), an online destination where adults and teens meet new people in 3D, today announced it has closed a $10 million round of Series D funding led by Best Buy Capital, Best Buy’s corporate venture-capital group, and joined by existing investors Menlo Ventures, Allegis Capital and Bridgescale Partners. IMVU will use the funds to invest in continued development of its 3D virtual community, which has grown to more than 30 million registrations around the use of personalized online 3D characters, called avatars, to meet new people from around the world.

 

“Menlo Ventures is excited to be supporting IMVU’s innovative future plans,” said Shawn Carolan, Managing Director at Menlo Ventures. “The company has emerged as a clear leader by delivering an experience unlike any other on the web. By providing the largest digital goods catalog in the world to its enormous and fast-growing member base, IMVU will continue to monetize at an exceptional rate.”

 

Since it launched in 2004, IMVU has grown into one of the largest 3D virtual communities by combining an expressive 3D environment with a robust social networking experience and a digital goods economy that enables users to buy, create and sell digital products such as clothing, room decorations and music. IMVU has the world’s largest digital goods catalog, with over 2 million items created by members of IMVU.

 

“This $10 million investment, led by Best Buy Capital, with renewed commitment from our existing investors is a testament to IMVU’s continued success,” said Cary Rosenzweig, CEO of IMVU, Inc. “Raising money in the current economic climate wasn’t easy. The fact that our monthly revenue was growing in the face of the economic downturn gave investors confidence in our business model.”

 

In conjunction with its Series D funding, IMVU announced that Best Buy Capital’s Kuk Yi will become a member of IMVU’s board of directors.

 

“We welcome Best Buy Capital and Kuk Yi to IMVU’s board of directors,” said Spencer Tall, Managing Director at Allegis Capital. “Matching creativity and self-expression with a compelling digital products strategy is the key to IMVU’s continued success. We are happy to continue funding a media investment that does not need to rely on the struggling advertising market, because over 90 percent of IMVU’s revenue comes from the direct sale of virtual credits to its customers.”

 

About IMVU

 

Founded in 2004, IMVU Inc. (www.imvu.com) is an online destination where adults and teens meet new people in 3D. IMVU won the 2008 Virtual Worlds Innovation Award and was also named a Rising Star in the 2008 Silicon Valley Technology Fast 50 program. Still in public beta, the company has already reached major milestones, including 30 million registered users, 100,000 registered developers and over $1 million in revenue each month. Members of IMVU have fun meeting new people with similar interests and expressing themselves through personalizing their 3D avatars, digital rooms, music and home pages. IMVU offers the world’s largest digital goods catalog with over 2 million items. Over 90 percent of IMVU’s revenue is from the direct sale of virtual credits, used to purchase digital products. IMVU is backed by top venture investors Best Buy Capital, Menlo Ventures, Allegis Capital and Bridgescale Partners and is located in Palo Alto, CA.