Welcoming Bijan and Jeff

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Tuesday, 24 June 2008

Welcoming Bijan and Jeff

We’re happy to announce two new members of our investment team: Bijan Sabet with Spark Capital in Boston and Jeff Bezos of Bezos Expeditions in Seattle. Bijan has also accepted a seat on our board of directors. We’re looking forward to the guidance and advice both will bring to Twitter. Existing partners Union Square Ventures in New York City and Tokyo-based Digital Garage exercised their pro rata rights to participate in this round as well.

Project: Runway

Twitter will become a sustainable business supported by a revenue model. However, our biggest opportunities will be worth pursuing only when we achieve our vision of Twitter as a global communication utility. To reach our goal, Twitter must be reliable and robust. Private funding gives us the runway we need to stay focused on the infrastructure that will help our business take flight. We will continue hiring systems engineers, operators, and architects, as well as consultants, scientists, and other professionals to help us realize our vision.

“A solid man of Boston…”

We met with an impressive line-up of folks over the course of two weeks last month. On our trip to Boston, Bijan Sabet and his partners at Spark Capital made a big impression on us. Bijan has a strong sense of where Twitter is heading and sees our service as a new form of communication with the potential to have a real impact in the world. He’s also “super excited about the possibilities.” Check out Bijan’s blog to learn more about him and what he thinks of our partnership. Also, be sure to follow @bijan on Twitter.

Seattle’s Best

Jeff Bezos is said to have displayed intense and varied scientific interests at an early age. Having worked on Wall Street as a computer scientist, built a network for international trade, founded Amazon.com, and launched the human space flight startup Blue Origin, Dr. Bezos (through Bezos Expeditions, his personal venture investment company) serves as more than an investor and advisor because he is also an inspiration to all of us at Twitter. Jeff’s attention to business process details and distinctive, “honk-like laugh” are similarly admirable traits as far as we’re concerned.

We’re thrilled with the team that’s coming together around Twitter and looking forward to more good things to come.