Tumblr Gets $85M in Funding

Blogging service Tumblr said Monday it has raised $85 million in new funding, although the New York-based company has scant revenue and has yet to develop a solid business model.

The lack of revenue has kept some major Silicon Valley venture firms from signing onto the deal, said people familiar the matter. But at least two prominent firms -- Greylock Partners, an investor in Facebook Inc. and Groupon Inc., and Twitter investor Insight Venture Partners have joined the latest investment round, said Tumblr.

Other new investors include The Chernin Group, Sir Richard Branson and returning investor partners Spark Capital, Union Square Ventures and Sequoia Capital.

Tumblr didn't comment on the valuation that the investors conferred on the company, but people said in recent money-raising discussions investors valued the company at around $800 million.

"This additional capital allows us to continue to scale our business and give real focus to the further development of Tumblr," said company founder and CEO David Karp in an email.