社交网络Hi5今日对外宣布刚刚获得公司的第二轮1400万的融资，据称这些融资将用于开拓游戏市场和虚拟支付领域。

alex

facebook是目前增长最强劲的社交网络，在用户量上也是10倍领先于HI5。为了扭转这一不利的趋势，HI5聘请了Alex St. John执掌网站的社交游戏方向。在社交游戏上HI5根本无法撼动facebook的霸主地位，但是可以给那些不想被facebook完全压制的开发者更多的平台机会。

HI5首席执行官Bill Gossman表示目前是HI5战略转向的重要时机。

HI5创建于2003年，并于2007年获得首轮2000万美元的融资。

hi-5-games

Social network Hi5 said today it has raised $14 million in a second round of funding as it tries to shift into social games and virtual goods.

Facebook has grown far faster than Hi5, with approximately 10 times more users. To deal with that, Hi5 hired gaming pioneer Alex St. John (pictured) as its president last fall and continued a deliberate expansion into social games. The company is making free-to-play games that users start playing for free, but they pay real money for virtual goods such as decorations.

Hi5 doesn’t have much of a chance of unseating Facebook in social games, but it might have a good chance to set itself up as a diversification opportunity for social game companies that don’t want to be entirely dependent on Facebook.

The round was led by Crosslink Capital and it included Mohr Davidow Ventures. To date, Hi5 has raised $34 million. That’s no small chunk of change, but it’s a pittance compared to what Facebook has raised. Jim Feuille, general partner at Crosslink, will join Hi5’s board.

San Francisco-based Hi5 still has tens of millions of users and much of its fan base is overseas; it ranks as one of the world’s top 20 web sites. In December, 2008 it launched its Hi5 Coins virtual currency and virtual gifts store. It kicked off its Hi5 games channel in February, 2009, and it launched Hi5 Stars animated avatars (virtual characters) in October 2009. In March, Hi5 launched a program targeting game developers to encourage them to publish their games on Hi5.

“Hi5 is among the companies leading and defining the rapidly emerging social entertainment category, and this round will enable us to fully capitalize on what is already a massive market opportunity,” said Bill Gossman, chief executive of Hi5.

Hi5 was founded in 2003 and raised its first venture round of $20 million in 2007. The company has 60 employees and 40 million monthly users, down from its peak of around 50 million in the past.

Founded in 2003, Hi5 today is available in over 50 languages. The site features localized games, virtual goods and other content that is monetized through Hi5 Coins, a global virtual currency supporting over 60 payment methods and 30 currencies worldwide.