Pinterest drew biggest VC interest last year

Pinterest raised more than $400 million in venture capital funding last year, placing it ahead of other leading technology firms, according to a new report from financial data provider PrivCo.

The social network and virtual pinboard raised $425 million in two separate rounds in 2013, led by Valiant Capital Partners and Fidelity Ventures.

The company secured €200 million in funding in February 2013, valuing it at €2.5 billion. A second funding round late in October saw the company collecting a further $225 million in new financing. Pinterest, which was founded by Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra and Evan Sharp in March 2010,

Pinterest, which allows users to create online bulletin boards, has nearly 50 million users globally, according to consultancy comScore. Following its latest funding round it is now valued at $3.8 billion despite having little revenue as yet.

The company announced plans last September to start showing ads as it takes its first steps towards monetisation.

Uber Technologies, an on-demand car service that recently announced plans to launch its business in Dublin, took the number one spot on the list of biggest venture capital rounds of 2013 by raising $361.2 Million from Google Ventures, TPG Capital LP, and Benchmark.

Uber, which bills itself as “everybody’s private driver,” has a team currently on the ground in Dublin looking at the Irish market and is already in more than 60 markets including San Francisco, Berlin, Tokyo and Dubai.

The firm was founded as UberCab by Garrett Camp and Travis Kalanick in 2009, before launching in 2010. Early investors include Benchmark Capital, Goldman Sachs, Menlo Ventures and Bezos Expeditions, an investment company owned by Amazon founder Mr Bezos.

Based on leaked revenue figures, Uber was on pace to bring in approximately $230 in revenue in 2013 and was averaging 316,000 new signups per month, PrivCo said.

Popular music streaming service Spotify was ranked as the second biggest VC round last year after it raised $250 million from Technology Crossover Ventures.

Other tech firms to feature in the top ten list included mobile solutions firm Airwatch and the social media management system HootSuite.

"Geographically this year's list looks a bit more diverse than past years', as Spotify, the recipient of the number two round, is headquartered in London, and number eight HootSuite is based in British Columbia," said PrivCo Founder Sam Hamadeh.

“HootSuite’s raise also marks the first time a Canadian company has made our list, showing the emergence of Canada’s startup ecosystem,” he added.

PrivCo’s Largest Venture Capital Investments of 2013

1. $361.2 Million- Uber Technologies by Google Ventures, TPG Capital LP, and Benchmark

2. $250 Million- Spotify by Technology Crossover Ventures

3. $225 Million- Pinterest led by Fidelity Ventures

4. $200 Million- Pinterest led by Valiant Capital Partners

5. $200 Million- AirWatch by Insight Venture Partners

6. $196.5 Million- Palantir Technologies by Unspecified Investors

7. $167.7 Million- ConforMIS by Unspecified Investors

8. $165 Million- HootSuite Media led by Insight Venture Partners

9. $150 Million- Fab led by Tencent Holdings LTD

10. $150 Million- Intrexon Corporation by Randal J. Kirk, and Third Security, LLC