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Lithium Technologies Raises $53.4 Million to Joust With Jive
Lithium Technologies Inc., a maker of social-media marketing software, raised $53.4 million in venture capital to challenge Salesforce.com Inc. and Jive Software Inc.
The company plans to double in size by the end of this year to almost 400 employees, said Lithium CEO, Rob Tarkoff. While Lithium doesn’t disclose financials, revenue for 2010 may have reached as much as $30 million, Gartner estimated.
"It's a much higher priority now on corporate budgets," Lithium Chief Executive Officer Rob Tarkoff said in an interview with Bloomberg's Ari Levy. "Social is not an experiment anymore. It's a real system, and you have to understand what you get when you invest."