Nextdoor, the neighborhood social network, is now valued at more than $2 billion after a recent capital raise that saw the company bring in $123 million in new funding.
Nextdoor, which recently expanded into real estate, announced this week that it raised $123 million in a recent funding round.
According to the company, the funding round was led by by Riverwood Capital, with participation from existing investors Benchmark, Tiger Global Management, and Kleiner Perkins, along with new participation from an unnamed “large global asset manager.”
The funding round is the company’s first big move under Sarah Friar, who took over as CEO last year. Friar came to Nextdoor from Square, where she was chief financial officer. Friar was thought by many to be the likely replacement for CEO Jack Dorsey should Dorsey ever decide to run Twitter full-time.
Observers of Square said that Friar was one of the company’s most valuable employees, one whose skill allowed Dorsey to split time between Twitter and Square.
Friar’s position in the company placed her at the top of a supposed shortlist to run Square if Dorsey ever left. But, according to Dorsey, Friar had always wanted to run a company.
And now, she’s doing that at Nextdoor and leading a capital raise that places Nextdoor’s valuation at $2.1 billion.
According to the company, the funding will help Nextdoor continue growing. As part of that growth, Nextdoor is expanding into Sweden and Denmark, adding to its current footprint in the U.S., the U.K., Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Australia.
The company states that people in more than 236,000 neighborhoods are currently using its service and the company expects that number to continue rising.
“Around the world, there is a universal yearning for the connectedness of proximity. Neighbors everywhere still love and care about belonging and contributing to a tangible, real place as evidenced by Nextdoor’s continued growth and expansion throughout the U.S., Europe and Australia,” Friar said in a statement. “We’re thrilled and honored to partner with these forward-looking investors to catalyze neighbors’ ability to connect with relevant local conversations, organizations, and businesses, engage in real world interactions, and unlock the global power of local.”
As part of the capital raise, Chris Varelas, co-founder and managing partner of Riverwood Capital, will join Nextdoor’s board of directors.
“We believe Nextdoor represents the future of local community and commerce – this investment reflects our collective belief in the power and opportunity in this space, and the Nextdoor team,” Varelas said. “We’re excited to be a part of this growing local platform and the much needed strengthening of communities that Nextdoor is enabling around the world.”
