Jive Software, a Palo Alto startup that connects businesses such as Intel and Nike to customers through social networking, has raised $30 million in a funding round led by venture capital powerhouse Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Jive’s third round of funding also includes existing investor Sequoia Capital and positions the software maker for a possible IPO. According to TechCrunch and VentureBeat, CEO Tony Zingale is preparing for an initial public offering of stock in 2011.
“We are honored to welcome KPCB to Jive, and to receive Sequoia’s unwavering commitment,” Zingale — former CEO of software maker Mercury Interactive, which was bought for $4.5 billion by Hewlett-Packard in 2006 — said in a statement Wednesday.
“KPCB and Sequoia are unparalleled at building great companies. We are privileged to have them both on our team,” said Zingale, who joined Jive as interim CEO in February and took over as permanent CEO in May.
Ted Schlein, Kleiner Perkins managing partner, will join Jive’s board of directors.
“Social business is the most important enterprise software category in a decade,” Schlein said in the news release. He described Jive as “the clear market leader, with a strong customer base, best-in-class technology and a deep management team. Jive is poised to become the next great enterprise software company.”
Jive — founded in Portland, Ore., in 2001 — expects social business software to become a $5 billion-a-year business by 2013. According to its website, Jive’s customers include Cisco Systems, SAP, T-Mobile and Yum Brands.
Kleiner Perkins has invested in tech giants such as Google, Amazon.com, Electronic Arts and Genentech.
According to TechCrunch, Jive previously raised $27 million from Sequoia. That brings its total funding to $57 million.
