Viadeo Raises $32 Million In Funding

Sites include LinkedIn.com , viadeo.com . Published on April 30th, 2012. Written by Anthony West.

There’s LinkedIn and you’ve probably heard about Branchout, but have you heard of Viadeo? All three are professional social networks and Viadeo is now looking to become a household name much LinkedIn.

Based in Paris, France, the platform has a user base of 35 million users and attracts people largely from Europe. The company is hoping that with a new $32 million in funding raised, it will be able to spread word about the service across the Atlantic. Around $13 of the funding comes from French Sovereign Fund, FSI, with rest of the funding coming from a mix of venture capitalists.

Analysts are a bit skeptical about Viadeo though, not least because much of its 35 million users are a mix of users that were resident on platforms that the company acquired. The company started its buying spree back in 2008 when it acquired its closest competitor, ICTnet. This was followed in 2009 by ApnaCircle, an Indian professional social network which at the time had over 300,000 users.

Skepticism aside though, Viadeo may just have a shot at making an impact since the professional social networking space is not as fierce as other tech sectors. If things go well for the European based Viadeo may even get acquired by LinkedIn.

Do you think Viadeo can make an impact in the US professional social networking space? Let us know below.