Piczo secures $11m investment for global teen market

by Alex Donohue, Brand Republic 19-Jan-07, 08:00

LONDON - Teen social networking website Piczo has secured $11m (£5.8m) in funding from US Venture Partners and Mangrove Capital Partners, as part of its plans to expand its global presence in the youth market.

Piczo, which appointed Ad2-one to sell advertising on its website in October 2006, said the securing of funding from US Venture Partners and Mangrove Capital Partners would be in addition to its existing investment from Sierra Ventures and Catamount Ventures.

The teen portal said the $11m would be used to expand Piczo's global presence, invest in new tools for the website and to create a safe online environment for its users, primarily girls aged 13 to 16.

Jeremy Verba, chief executive officer of Piczo, said: "The funding from USVP and Mangrove Capital validates our strategy of expanding globally to reach the highly desirable teen demographic."

Verba added that securing European and US funding would help Piczo, which claims to be the fastest-growing teen social networking site in the world, to further grow its business.

Gerard Lopez, managing partner of Mangrove Capital Partners, added: "Teens control billions of dollars of spending worldwide. Understanding this demographic and knowing how to market to them online is a skill that Piczo can bring to its partners and advertisers."

Piczo, which was founded in 2004 by Verba, recorded a 9,669% increase in website audience in 2005 according to Nielsen//NetRatings, making it the first placed web brand for audience growth for the year.

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