In case you haven’t heard, the startup world got a jolt today with the news that Pinterest received a new round of investment in the amount of $100m lead by Rakuten, our parent company.
Rakuten will help Pinterest expand their wildly popular model into Japan and other countries where Rakuten has a presence. Hiroshi Mikitani, Rakuten CEO and Founder, often says that “Shopping is Entertainment” and this investment takes that notion a big leap forward as the synergies between e-commerce and Pinterest are explored.
Many of you might be wondering what this means for Rakuten LinkShare and Pinterest. Affiliate Marketing was not part of the announcement today but to be sure, we will keep you posted on any developments in that area moving forward.
In the meantime, here’s a link to the press release and below are a few links to articles covering the announcement:
- Business Insider: Why A Japanese E-Commerce Giant Is The Lead Investor In Pinterest
- Wall Street Journal: Pinterest Raises $100 Million With $1.5 Billion Valuation
- Huffington Post: Pinterest Funding: Social Network Raises $100 Million, WSJ Reports
- TechCrunch: Rakuten CEO On The $100M Pinterest Round: We Want Pinterest Users To Pin Images And Buy Using Our ID
- All Things D: Hey Mickey, You’re So Fine: Meet the Man Who Landed Silicon Valley’s Hottest Funding Deal in Pinterest
Scott Allan
SVP, Global Marketing