One of the nation’s leading recommendation and lifestyle information portals, iPeen (愛評網), is looking to double its number of employees on the back of a US$1 million investment by Japanese venture capital firm CyberAgent Venture Inc, company officials said yesterday.
The Web portal, founded in 2006, is the largest Taiwanese site for sharing restaurant-related information, with the cooperation of more than 85,000 restaurants and more than 160,000 comments by its members.
It is also the first Taiwan-based Web site to get investment from an international venture capital firm since the “dot-com bubble,” the company said in a statement.
“The new funds will be put toward expansion in the central and southern regions of Taiwan, with the number of employees doubling to more than 70 from the current 30,” chief executive Sky Ho (何吉弘) told a media briefing.
The company plans to set up offices in Greater Kaohsiung and Greater Taichung, expanding its connections with restaurants in these regions, Ho said.
“We hope to attract more users by increasing our database to 120,000 restaurants before the end of this year,” Ho said.
The Web site is also looking to expand its mobile versions on Apple Inc’s iOS operating system and Google Inc’s Android operating system, Ho added.
Last year, the company hit the break-even point for the first time, with revenue amounting to about NT$32 million (US$1.11 million), company data showed.
“We hope revenue will reach NT$90 million this year by expanding our business with small to medium-sized restaurants,” Ho said.
Alice Fang (方倩勻), Taiwan president at CyberAgent, said the firm focuses on investing in Web sites and Internet-related firms.
“We plan to set up an office in Taiwan and invest in three to four Web sites by the end of this year, as we are optimistic about Taiwan’s Internet industry,” Fang said.
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