Social Network Tagged Raises $15M; Revenue Grew 35 Percent To $43M In 2011

Tagged, a social network for meeting new people, has raised $15 million in growth capital financing from Lighthouse Capital Partners and Comerica Bank. The company previously raised $9 million in funding.

Tagged was on an acquisition tear in 2011, buying hi5, Digsby, TopicMarks and WeGame. These acquisitions expanded the network’s reach to over 300 million members in 220 countries.

The company, which is profitable, says it grew revenue by 35 percent to over $43 million in 2011. And Tagged doubled its staff last year as well.

“The Social Discovery category has just begun its high-growth trajectory,” said Tagged’s CEO Greg Tseng. “While we are profitable and don’t need capital to fund operations, we are also opportunistic and will use these funds to further Tagged’s leadership and innovation in the industry. The growth capital will also enable us to make additional strategic acquisitions, accelerating us toward our next 300 million members.”

Earlier this year, Tagged started its renovations on gaming platform hi5, emphasizing social discovery (i.e., meeting new people, rather than just connecting with existing friends). Last year, Tagged also launched its own in-house development studio because it found that the games that did the best achieved the company’s aims were built by Tagged itself.

The new funding will be used towards product development and acquisitions.