Quora has successfully raised $226 million over four funding rounds, achieving a valuation of $1.7 billion. The platform is dedicated to growing and sharing the world's knowledge.
Keep reading to explore the intricacies of Quora's fundraising journey and the investors backing this innovative platform.
What Is Quora?
Quora, founded in 2009, is a platform dedicated to growing and sharing the world's knowledge. Based in Mountain View, California, it allows users to ask questions and share knowledge on a wide range of topics.
The company was founded by Adam D'Angelo and Charlie Cheever, who aimed to make human knowledge more accessible. Quora operates with a team of 201-500 employees, focusing on social media, search, and knowledge management.
For more information about job opportunities and company culture, visit Quora Careers.
How Much Funding Has Quora Raised?
- Series A
- Amount Raised: $11,000,000
- Date: March 2010
- Lead Investors: Benchmark
- Valuation at Round: $86 million
- Motivation Behind the Round: To hire engineers and designers to grow quickly and build a robust product.
- Series B
- Amount Raised: $50,000,000
- Date: May 2012
- Lead Investors: Peter Thiel
- Valuation at Round: $400 million
- Motivation Behind the Round: To scale and grow the company, focus on long-term goals, and build a strong team.
- Series C
- Amount Raised: $80,000,000
- Date: April 2014
- Lead Investors: Tiger Global Management
- Valuation at Round: $900 million
- Motivation Behind the Round: To stay independent, build out Quora's product, internationalization, and infrastructure improvements.
- Series D
- Amount Raised: $85,000,000
- Date: April 2017
- Lead Investors: Collaborative Fund, Y Combinator's Continuity Fund
- Valuation at Round: $1.8 billion
- Motivation Behind the Round: To fund internationalization efforts, including launching dedicated wings of its app for different languages.
Total Amount Raised: $226 million. Current Valuation: $1.8 billion.
Key Investors
- Y Combinator
- Details: Y Combinator is a startup accelerator that provides seed funding, advice, and connections to early-stage startups. It has been instrumental in the growth of numerous successful companies.
- Investment Focus Areas: Internet services, software, healthcare
- Notable Investments: Airbnb, Dropbox, Stripe
- Collaborative Fund
- Details: Collaborative Fund is a venture capital firm that focuses on supporting and investing in companies that are pushing the world forward. They are known for their investments in companies that have a positive social impact.
- Investment Focus Areas: Social impact, sustainable and ethical businesses, technology and innovation
- Notable Investments: Lyft, Kickstarter, Beyond Meat
- Tiger Global Management
- Details: Tiger Global is a global investment firm that focuses on private and public companies in the internet, software, consumer, and financial technology sectors. They are known for their aggressive investment strategy and large portfolio of high-growth companies.
- Investment Focus Areas: Internet and software, consumer technology, financial technology
- Notable Investments: Facebook, LinkedIn, Spotify
- Benchmark
- Details: Benchmark is a venture capital firm that has previously invested in Quora. Known for investing in early-stage startups, Benchmark has a strong track record in the tech industry.
- Investment Focus Areas: Early-stage technology companies, internet services
- Notable Investments: Uber, Twitter, Snapchat
- Peter Thiel
- Details: Peter Thiel is a well-known entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He is the co-founder of PayPal and an early investor in Facebook.
- Investment Focus Areas: Technology startups, social media platforms, innovative startups
- Notable Investments: Facebook, Palantir Technologies, SpaceX
What's Next for Quora?
Quora's future looks promising with significant opportunities for growth. The platform's user base has surged to 190 million monthly users, and its international expansion plans could further boost this number. Monetization through advertising presents a substantial revenue stream, especially given the platform's high engagement rates and evergreen content.
Future fundraising rounds seem likely, given Quora's strong financial position and growth trajectory. The recent $85 million Series D round, co-led by Collaborative Fund and Y Combinator's Continuity Fund, underscores investor confidence. However, challenges such as competition from other Q&A platforms and the need to balance user experience with monetization efforts remain.
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