Pinterest raises $150 million valuing company at $12.3 billion

[June 07, 2017]  (Reuters) - Pinterest, which develops visual search technology and allows users to save images on its website, has raised $150 million from existing investors in its latest round of funding valuing the company at $12.3 billion, a company spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

The latest funding round has slightly increased the company's valuation from $11 billion when Pinterest raised $367 million in March 2015.

Pinterest, which was founded in 2010, introduced a new search tool in early February called Lens to boost its advertising revenue.

Lens helps users to discover ideas inspired by objects in the real world that are detected through a device camera.

The additional capital will be used for further investments in visual technology and global expansion, the spokeswoman said in a statement over email.

The SanFrancisco-based company has 175 million monthly users collecting and pinning photos related to cooking, designing, travel and other interests on its website. About 60 percent of Pinterest's user base is outside the United States.

(Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Cynthia Osterman)

[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.