Wikio, which is basically a European version of Digg (more on that later), just received a considerable amount of funding to continue its growth. Reports indicate that Lightspeed Venture Partners and Gemini Israel Funds have endowed the company with $5.3 million.
In terms of what the company does, Pierre Chappaz, Wikio’s chairman, posted a relevant comment on TechCrunch (someone using that name did, at least). And while his grammar may not exactly meet the standards of “Standard English,” you have to applaud anyone who can pick up a second language – and any chairman who is willing to respond in the “Comments” section.
“I invite european users to do a quick benchmark between Google news, technorati and Wikio for their own country and make their mind,” Chappaz wrote. “We are aware that we have a lot of work in front of us, but I’d appreciate an honest feed back as we are here to listen to users and offer them the best information service.”
Despite those name-droppings, don’t expect Wikio to declare war on its American “competitors,” – Wikio is most interested in the European market. “There’s a huge vacuum in Europe that the company wants to fill,” according to Yoni Cheisetz, a partner with Lightspeed Ventures. Cheisetz spoke to the Red Herring’s Mary Lisbeth D’Amico, and “said the bulk of Wikio’s users are in Europe, many in France.”
The Red Herring also detailed Wikio’s Euro-centric expansion. “Since it launched last year, Wikio has released versions of its site in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain and, most recently, the United States,” wrote D’Amico. With a fresh $5.3 million in its pockets, it’s quite possible that several more countries will soon see their own version of Wikio.
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Doug is a staff writer for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest eBusiness news.
