Social buying site Groupon is now valued at more than $1 billion. It joins social networks Facebook and Twitter and online gaming company Zynga in a very small club of web 2.0 startups that have crossed the $1 billion threshold.
Speculation about the company’s worth became reality when the site nabbed $135 million in new funding from investment group Digital Sky Technologies and Battery Ventures. The DST powerhouse has previously invested in both Facebook and Zynga.
Groupon bands thousands of users together to get bulk discount deals from local businesses in various cities (26 U.S. cities thus far). It’s not a completely fresh idea, but Groupon – which started as just another group effort on The Point – has managed the most successful execution to date. It has become profitable by taking a cut from each business that offers goods or services on the site.
The company is based in Chicago, where it’s the proverbial elephant in the room in the relatively small tech scene that is also home to 37signals and Where I’ve Been.
