Dublin is among Twitter’s ‘prime targets’ in which to locate its European HQ. If it does so it will join Zynga, Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and others who have located European headquarters in the city.
Earlier this week, it emerged that prominent Silicon Valley firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is to put US$200m into Twitter, bringing the total amount of venture capital raised by Twitter to US$360m. The investment values Twitter at around US$2.8bn.
A final decision is expected by IDA Ireland in the new year, according to reports.
Twitter’s search for a European HQ
Social networking giant Twitter has said it is scouting several European locations with a view to locating a “small presence” in Europe to begin with.
As part of the US$200m investment this week, the company is to get two new board members – Flipboard’s Mike McCue and ex-DoubleClick CEO David Rosenblatt. It is clear from these appointments that Twitter is trying to strike the perfect balance between technological relevance and monetising via online advertising.
Kleiner Perkins is the only investor in this current round. Other investors in Twitter include Benchmark Capital, Union Square Venture Partners, Spark Capital and various angel investors.
In a blog post entitled ‘Meaningful Growth’, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo revealed that in the past 12 months, Twitter sent an “astonishing” 25 billion tweets and added more than 100 million accounts. Its team has grown to 350 people.
