Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg says his social network doesn’t need more moola, so plans for an IPO will remain in the wings for several years. He would not confirm nor deny bloggers’ comments regarding funding offers he may have received recently during a talk at the Reuters Global Technology Summit. Media reports of talks with various investors about a new round of funding are greatly exaggerated, Zuckerberg claims, although he is open to investments and partnerships. Facebook got $240 million from Microsoft in 2007. Zuckerberg said an IPO wasn’t his company’s goal. Rather, it would only be an event on a path of where they are going. Wherever they are going, they are going fast. They have doubled their active users in less than ten months. Currently, ad revenue keeps the five year old company afloat. Three quarters of the top US advertisers work with Facebook, and it is growing in international markets. The company expects to have a positive cash flow by its sixth year. There’s the true test of a solid enterprise. Most start ups fail in the first five years.
Facebook is emphasizing their basic user-focused features of extending the service across the Web, and offerings such as Facebook Connect. Facebook Connect is available for the iPhone, and they are encouraging developers of iPhone apps to integrate them with Facebook. “With Facebook Connect, users can bring their real identity information to their iPhone, including basic profile information, profile picture, name, friends, photos, events, and groups,” according to the Facebook Developers site. Connect for the iPhone is a Cocoa library that developers would add to their iPhone app client.
If you have some extra bucks lying around and want to make a funding offer to Mr. Zuckerberg, check out his Facebook page.
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