Surfingbird.ru Raises $2.5 mln Equity Funding

In its second round of financing, Russia-based web search and recommendation engine Surfingbird has successfully raised USD 2.5 mln from Russian and French angel investors. The new equity funding leaves 19 percent stake with the founders and 30 percent with the first-round investors. Monetization of the site will begin in one year, and the company intends to take its daily-user base to 100,000 by the end of 2011.

Surfingbird.ru (www.surfingbird.ru)
Surfingbird.ru was founded in 2010 and is currently in the beta testing phase. Surfingbird’s first round investment of USD 400,000 was partially contributed to by French entrepreneur Pierric Duthoit. A further investment of USD 15 to 20 mln will be sought for site development in the middle of 2012 by issuing shares, and the company also has its eye on the European market with its English version and browser plug-ins.