Rakuten leads investment in Pinterest
Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten has announced that it is leading a $100M investment in Pinterest, the online scrapbooking site.
The investment which includes additional funds from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners, and FirstMark Capital, will enable Pinterest to continue improving its service and to expand its global community.
The investment also marks the start of a strategic partnership between Rakuten and Pinterest to help expand in Japan and into Rakuten’s 17 other global markets.
Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO of Rakuten said: “While some may see e-commerce as a straightforward vending machine-like experience, we believe it is a living process where both retailers and consumers can communicate, discover, and curate to make the experience more entertaining. We see tremendous synergies between Pinterest’s vision and Rakuten’s model for e-commerce. Rakuten looks forward to introducing Pinterest to the Japanese market as well as other markets around the world.”
Never Miss a Retail Update!Ben Silbermann, co-founder and CEO of Pinterest, said: “Our goal is to help people discover things they love, by connecting people through their shared interests. Bringing Rakuten on board gives us an amazing opportunity to move a step closer to this goal.”
Rakuten has expanded rapidly in recent years, buying Play.com and Buy.com and investing in Ozon.ru in Russia.
