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Facebook raises $1 bn of fresh capital
MUMBAI: Facebook has raised $1 billion of fresh capital from non-U.S. investors. Combined with the infusion from Goldman Sachs and Russia‘s Digital Sky Technologies in December, this takes the total of its latest round of funding to $1.5 billion.
The investment values the Palo Alto-based social networking site at $50 billion, which is more than the market values of Yahoo and ebay, but less than Amazon and Google.
Says Facebook chief financial officer David Ebersman, “Our business continues to perform well, and we are pleased to be able to bolster our cash position with this new financing.”
The Goldman funding round was originally supposed to include U.S. investors, but the investment bank barred the U.S. investors, after the plan drew regulatory scrutiny.
However, Facebook said it has as no immediate plans on just what to do with the money raised.
The social networking giant also announced that it would pass the 500-threshold of shareholders sometime in 2011, “and therefore expects to start filing public financial reports no later than 30 April 2012.”
If things went on course, Facebook’s IPO could come during the summer of 2012.Facebook raises $1 billion from Goldman’s non-US clients
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
