Pinterest secures $200 million, pushing value to $2.5 billion

Popular social network Pinterest has secured approximately $200 million in funding, raising the San Francisco start-up’s valuation to $2.5 billion.

Pinterest is a social network that lets users post content from around the Web in “pinboards” that can be seen by others. The service began expanding exponentially in 2012.

The company announced its latest round of funding Wednesday afternoon, saying Valiant Capital Management led the effort. Existing Pinterest investors, Andreessen Horowitz, Bessemer Venture Partners and FirstMark Capital, were also involved in the latest round of funding.

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“Our focus is on helping millions of people discover things they love and get inspiration to go do those things in their life,” Pinterest CEO Ben Silbermann said in a statement. “This investment gives us more resources to help realize that vision.”

Pinterest said it plans to use the funding to continue growing and expanding its service. The startup will continue to hire more employees, improve its infrastructure to make Pinterest faster and develop new technology and features for users.

Previously, Pinterest raised $100 million in funding last May. That deal raised the company’s value to $1.5 billion.

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