Digg digs up $8.5 million

I asked Digg founder Kevin Rose in September “How long can your $2.8 million in venture funding last to finance your preferred path to profitability?”:

 

"We are fully funded. We have decided to keep a small team. We will be able to turn a profit, we won’t need to go for another round of funding. We are a 100% ad-based model."

 

Three months later, Rose has had a change of heart, and a change of funding. Dow Jones is reporting Digg has received “$8.5 million in new financing from previous investors including Greylock Partners and the Pierre Omidyar Network.”

 

Digg revamped its site earlier in the month, as I discuss in “Digg’s new digs” and “Can Digg go mainstream?”:

 

Rose announced the latest redesign and reconfiguration of Digg, with a greater focus on video, the addition of podcast Digging and more emphasis of non-tech content, such as science, sports and entertainment. Will Digg succeed in its efforts to diversify beyond its tech content and user base?

 

Digg does not seem to be any closer to profitability; CEO Jay Adelson is cited:

 

Our board and investors did not want us to focus, at any time, on monetization at this stage. Our focus has been on user growth.

 

ALSO: "Web 2.0 success metrics: Revenues, profits in 2007?" and "VCs bullish on Internet in 2007"