Flock, a "social web browser," secured $15 million in Series D funding, in a round led by Fidelity Ventures. Previous lead investors, including Bessemer Ventures and Shasta Ventures also participated.
The timing of the financing is serendipitous, to say the least -- the IPO window is slammed shut and the economy is showing signs of weakness -- but CEO Shawn Hardin says this wasn't a panic round, spurred by the coming recession.
"We didn't seek funding because economic conditions were bad -- it was the right time for our business to seek an additional partner," says Hardin, a former AOL and Yahoo executive. "A big part of this round is to really focus our R&D efforts on international markets -- in Europe, Asia, and other key markets as appropriate."
His comments contrast with those made by one of his investors -- Marc Andreessen -- who said, after securing $60 million in funding for Ning, that the company was stocking up on firepower to survive the "oncoming nuclear winter."
*Photo: *Courtesy Flock
