hi5 is a social network that has actively remodeled its site to focus on social gaming, virtual currency, and avatars, and recently acquired gaming startup Big Six. The company launched a revamped site last fall with a stronger emphasis on games and virtual goods. Leadership changes this year include a new president, gaming veteran Alex St. John, and a new CEO, Bill Gossman; the company also underwent layoffs earlier in the year. hi5 reports roughly 60 million members. The network is pursuing gaming and virtual‑goods monetization to differentiate itself from larger competitors. Recent fundraising will be used to support the continued expansion into social gaming and virtual goods. Hi5 is a San Francisco-based social networking site. The company raised $20 million in a new round of funding led by Mohr Davidow Ventures. According to Alexa, Hi5 was ranked the 11th most popular site online, ahead of Facebook at 13th. The site has become a global success with most traffic coming from outside the United States; it is ranked No. 1 in Portugal, Ecuador, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala, and No. 2 in Jamaica, Honduras and the Dominican Republic. Traffic breakdown in the article notes 16.2% of visitors come from Peru, 7.7% from Portugal, and just 2% from the United States. As of December 2006, Hi5 claimed to have 50 million registered users.

Total raised

$34M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Jul 2010