Twitter’s Funding Finally Revealed

Though it's been some time coming, Twitter has finally revealed its private funding sources. With the latest boost in funding, the Twitter team should be able to deliver on its promise to the community to boost support for the platform across the board.

Twitter revealed, at long last, its sources of private funding, which are Bijan Sabet of Spark Capital and Jeff Bezos of his very own Bezos Expeditions. Neither investors are what you'd call small-time, as Sabet just accepted a position on the board of directors at Twitter, and Bezos is a chief executive of the tiny web-startup Amazon.

The actual investment amounts are yet to be disclosed to the public, but many believe the dollar amount to be below $100 million, with some claiming that the investments total about $15 million or so. Regardless of the size, any amount should go a long way towards completing the goals the Twitter team has for growth and support.

Biz Stone, one of the co-founders of Twitter, wrote in a blog post:

Twitter will become a sustainable business supported by a revenue model. However, our biggest opportunities will be worth pursuing only when we achieve our vision of Twitter as a global communication utility. To reach our goal, Twitter must be reliable and robust. Private funding gives us the runway we need to stay focused on the infrastructure that will help our business take flight. We will continue hiring systems engineers, operators, and architects, as well as consultants, scientists, and other professionals to help us realize our vision.

Right on, Biz. Twitter has been suffering from outtages, fluctuating IPAs, and general havoc when any major event in the real world occurs. The Twitter team has been very good about keeping the Twitter community in the know as to what the problems have been, and generally speaking, the community hasn't responded to bitterly.

However, the additional funding will, according to stone, allow Twitter to develop a legitimate revenue model. Before that, Twitter will undoubtedly be working hard and fast to add members to the team and make the most critical changes to alleviate the inconsistencies in API and frequent down-times.

Michael Arrington of TechCrunch, my absolute favorite toddler/blogger in the world , estimates Twitter's current funding at $20.4 million. Arrington believes the next round of funding should hit about $60 million. He also predicts that Twitter usage is about to "explode," as usage has picked up substantially in the last few months.

If that is true, then Twitter really does need to get in gear on revamping the system and developing a revenue model. But I'm not too worried about it. I think Twitter has its affairs in order, and funding will be the key to making sure me and all the rest of the world can tweet happily away soon to come.