Indian founded Livemocha raises $8 Million

Livemocha an e-learning Web 2.0 startup, has raised $8 million in a Series B financing. This round of venture financing is led by August Capital, along with the participation from the existing investor Maveron.

Howard Hartenbaum, General Partner from August Capital, has joined Amy Errett of Maveron on Livemocha's Board of Directors. The company's series A was led by Maveron in December 2007. This latest round brings the total funds raised to date by Livemocha to $14 million, and will be applied to accelerate platform innovation and new partnership launches planned for the next 6-12 months.

Founded in 2007 by Shirish Nadkarni and Krishnan Seshadrinathan, Livemocha is a Seattle-based company that is redefining language learning by combining online courses in over 30 languages with a community of native language speakers. According to the company, it offers a highly effective online learning experience that has quickly attracted a large and active global community. Social, interactive lessons include practice with native speakers for natural development of practical language skills. Specific revenues are undisclosed but growing rapidly, with customers in 97 countries paying for premium products and services.

With over 4.8 million registered members from over 200 countries, Livemocha is available today with support for six popular languages - English, Spanish, French, Hindi, German, and Mandarin Chinese. "Closing a significant round of funding is acknowledgement of our progress and underscores the large, disruptive potential of Livemocha," said Nadkarni, CEO and Co-founder of Livemocha. "We are excited and well-positioned to realize a very ambitious vision for the future of language learning." Currently, there are about 10 employees in the company.