ZD NET INDIA — Nov 2 — A top Silicon Valley VC firm invested $10 million in Sulekha.com (1.5 million members). Norwest Venture Partners, led by Indian-born managing director Promod Haque, said the $10 million in Series A financing would fund the expansion of Sulekha's focus beyond India's top eight cities and into new business segments. The English-language site may eventually offer regional dialects. Beyond self-published blogs and online directories, users can buy and sell classified advertising, as on Craigslist.com. Founded in 1998 in Austin, Texas, it first targeted non-resident Indians, before spreading to Indian cities. It had funding from Indian early-stage Internet and mobile investor Indigo Monsoon Group. Sulekha has offline partnerships with book publisher Penguin and newspaper companies DNA and Indian Express to distribute the work of tens of thousands of bloggers, and plans to spend more on marketing with partners such as mobile carriers.
The full article was originally published at ZD Net India, but is no longer available.