Digg
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Investors
Founders
About
Digg was a social news aggregation website that allowed users to discover, submit, and vote on web content 1. The site was founded in November 2004 by Kevin Rose, Owen Byrne, Ron Gorodetzky, and Jay Adelson, and publicly launched on December 5, 2004 2. Rose initially invested $6,000 of personal savings and hired Byrne as the first developer 3. Adelson served as CEO from early 2005 and led the company’s fundraising efforts 4.
At its peak around 2008, Digg attracted over 40 million unique visitors per month and was valued at approximately $175 million 3. Google reportedly considered acquiring Digg for approximately $200 million but ultimately passed 5.
In July 2012, Digg’s assets were sold in a three-way deal: Betaworks acquired the brand, website, and code for approximately $500,000; The Washington Post acquired the team for $12 million; and LinkedIn purchased the patent portfolio for approximately $4 million 67. The total deal value was approximately $16 million 6. Digg was subsequently acquired by BuySellAds in April 2018 3, and in March 2025 was re-purchased by Kevin Rose and Alexis Ohanian 8.
Funding History
| Date | Round | Amount | Lead | Co-investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2005 | Series A | $2.8M | Greylock Partners | Omidyar Network, Marc Andreessen, Reid Hoffman 39 |
| Dec 2006 | Series B | $8.5M | — | Greylock Partners, Omidyar Network 103 |
| Sep 2008 | Series C | $28.7M | Highland Capital Partners | Greylock Partners, Omidyar Network, SVB Capital 511 |
Total raised: approximately $40 million across three rounds 5.
What Investors Say
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What Founders Say
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Sources
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Crunchbase, “Digg - Company Profile & Funding,” accessed March 2026. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/digg↩
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History-Computer, “The History of Digg,” accessed March 2026. https://history-computer.com/people/the-history-of-digg/↩
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ProductMint, “What Happened To Digg? 4 Reasons Why It Ultimately Failed,” accessed March 2026. https://productmint.com/what-happened-to-digg/↩↩↩↩↩
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Jay Adelson Wikipedia, accessed March 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Adelson↩
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TechCrunch, “Spurned By Google, Digg Taps VCs For $29 Million C Round,” September 2008. https://techcrunch.com/2008/09/24/spurned-by-google-digg-taps-vcs-for-29-million-c-round/↩↩↩
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TechCrunch, “Digg Sold To LinkedIn AND The Washington Post And Betaworks,” July 2012. https://techcrunch.com/2012/07/12/digg-sold-to-linkedin-and-the-washington-post-and-betaworks/↩↩
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TechCrunch, “Betaworks Acquires Digg (For Significantly More Than $500K),” July 2012. https://techcrunch.com/2012/07/12/betaworks-acquires-digg/↩
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CNBC, “Alexis Ohanian, Kevin Rose team up to buy and revive Digg,” March 2025. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/05/alexis-ohanian-kevin-rose-team-up-to-buy-and-revive-digg.html↩
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Sramana Mitra, “Deal Radar 2008: Digg,” February 2008. https://www.sramanamitra.com/2008/02/04/deal-radar-2008-digg-making-news/↩
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Pulse2, “Greylock Partners And Omidyar Network Plug Another $8.5 Million Into Digg,” accessed March 2026. https://pulse2.com/greylock-partners-and-omidyar-network-plug-another-85-million-into-digg/amp/↩
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BusinessWire, “Digg Announces Significant Expansion Plans Fueled by $28.7 Million Series C Round of Funding,” September 2008. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20080924005945/en/Digg-Announces-Significant-Expansion-Plans-Fueled-28.7↩