Linden Lab Receives $11M in New Financing
Globespan Capital Partners Joins the Second Life Metaverse
San Francisco, CA — March 28, 2006 — Linden Lab®, creator of the acclaimed 3D digital world, Second Life®, announced today it has completed a successful financing round of $11M led by Globespan Capital Partners and with participation by Jeff Bezos. Current investors Benchmark Capital, Catamount Ventures, software pioneer Mitch Kapor, and the Omidyar Network also participated in the round.
"When I first discovered Second Life, I was immediately impressed by the sophistication of this virtual world, especially the existence of a fully functioning, thriving economy," said Jonathan Seelig, Managing Director at Globespan Capital Partners. I look forward to being a part of its future growth."
"Second Life has grown to over 165,000 residents with an economy worth over US$60mm per year. With thousands of Second Life creators building more complex and engaging content, we are rapidly moving toward a mainstream global market," said Philip Rosedale, CEO of Linden Lab. "The support of Globespan confirms what everyone who has experienced Second Life knows —the metaverse has arrived, and is growing quickly."
Second Life has enjoyed month over month record growth in subscriber acquisition, its economy and the number of subscribers that are generating profits in US currency.
About Linden LabLinden Lab was founded in 1999 by Philip Rosedale to create a revolutionary new form of shared 3D experience. The former CTO of RealNetworks, Rosedale pioneered the development of many of today’s streaming media technologies, including RealVideo. In April 2003, noted software pioneer Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus Development Corporation, was named Chairman. In 2005, Second Life was designated "Best of the New Web" by Business Week Magazine.
Based in San Francisco, Linden Lab employs a senior team bringing together deep expertise in physics, 3D graphics and networking. Team members have previously worked for market leading companies such as Electronic Arts, Maxis, Disney, Macromedia, THQ, Acclaim, Hasbro, Mattel and RealNetworks.
