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Accel, Recruit Holdings back Australia's 99designs

  • Holden Mann
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Australia-founded online design marketplace 99designs has raised $10 million in a Series B round led by Recruit Strategic Partners, with existing investor Accel Partners also participating.

Accel's Rob Solomon will join 99design's board of directors. The new capital will be used for the company's expansion into Japan and other Asian countries, according to a statement. Recruit, which is based in Japan, will help connect the company with potential corporate clients.

99designs uses a crowdsourcing model, soliciting designs from artists and allowing businesses to select the work they like best and connect with the artists for further collaboration. Having started by offering logos, 99designs has recently added website design and hosting to its services.

The company is headquartered in San Francisco and has offices in Australia, Germany and Brazil. Around 950,000 designers from 192 countries have registered with 99designs, and the company has helped to set up more than $110 million worth of successful collaborations.

This round is a step down from the company's 2011 Series A, led by Accel, which netted 99designs $35 million. Founded in Melbourne in 2008, the company focused most of its efforts on the US at first, with expansion into Europe and South America following VC investment.

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