$8.5 million funding for Path, the 'personal network'

The much-hyped Path, which calls itself "the personal network" and limits users to 50 friends, has received $8.5 million in fresh investments from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Index Ventures and Digital Garage Japan. San Francisco-based Path was started by former Facebook platform manager Dave Morin, co-creator of Macster Dustin Mierau and co-founder of Napster, Shawn Fanning. With this infusion of funds, the total venture capital investment into Path goes up to $11.2 million.Path is based on the findings of Robin Dunbar, the renowned evolutionary psychology professor who stated that the maximum number of social relationships that any human being can handle is limited to 150 (popularly referred to as "Dunbar's number"). So, what is the business idea behind Path? Essentially, it is a suite of applications (with the iPhone app leading the set) designed for photo-sharing within the close network of 50 friends (or less). Based on the fact that you're most likely to add only the people closest to you, Path promotes itself as "a place where you can be yourself."

Path has received a lot of attention from the press and investors due to the blockbuster nature of its founding team. They have also been in the news for recent feature upgrades like posting through email and 10-second video uploads. To know more about Path and their business idea, check out http://blog.path.com/. Do let us know your thoughts about this story. You can also write to us at [email protected]

Image courtesy: Path Blog

Sriram Mohan | YourStory | 2nd February | Bangalore