Pinterest Valued at $1.5 Billion

Online scrapbooking site Pinterest has raised $100 million as of Thursday, according to in its latest financing round—and that puts the startup’s value at $1.5 billion. Last year, a funding round valued the startup at $200 million. Much of the recent funding is being spearheaded by Japanese e-commerce site Rakuten Inc., which Pinterest chose to lead the funding round because of its global presence and ability to help the startup expand internationally. Most of the interest in the startup is based on the rapid increase in the number of users. The site crossed 20 million users last month, up from 1 million in July 2011. But the company has no specific business model, has no way of making revenue, and was unprofitable as of earlier this year.