Nextdoor, the social network for neighborhoods, raises $123M

“Local” social networking site Nextdoor, which aims to bring together people who live in the same neighborhood, has just raised $123 million in a funding round led by Riverwood capital.

Benchmark, Tiger Global Management, Kleiner Perkins, and an undisclosed “large global asset manager” also participated in the round, which brings Nextdoor’s total funding to more than $400 million and values the company at $2.1 billion. Previously, Nextdoor was valued at just $1.5 billion following a $70 million funding round in 2017.

San Francisco-based Nextdoor was founded back in 2010, and is similar to Facebook in many respects, though it focuses specifically on connecting people who live in the same local areas. Facebook caters to these scenarios to a certain extent with its Group pages, but Nextdoor’s laser-sharp focus has won plenty of users, helping it to grow beyond the U.S. to countries including Australia, Denmark, France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK.

The company doesn’t divulge numbers, but claims that 236,000 neighborhoods across the world now connect via its platform.

“Around the world, there is a universal yearning for the connectedness of proximity,” said Nextdoor’s chief executive officer Sarah Friar. “Neighbors everywhere still love and care about belonging and contributing to a tangible, real place, as evidenced by Nextdoor’s continued growth and expansion throughout the U.S., Europe, and Australia.”

With the new funds, Nextdoor said it plans to recruit more staff to fuel its expansion, in order to cement itself as the “essential local platform for neighbors around the globe.”

The plan calls for greater expansion in Europe especially, where Nextdoor says its growing at a rate of 300%.

Riverwood Capital cofounder and partner Chris Varelas will also join Nextdoor’s board of directors as a result of the investment.

“We believe Nextdoor represents the future of local community and commerce — this investment reflects our collective belief in the power and opportunity in this space and the Nextdoor team,” Varelas said.