News Corp.‘s Fox Interactive Media is investing $3.5 million in job search engine SimplyHired.com, while VC Foundation Capital puts in $10 million. Each gets a seat on the board and an undisclosed stake. More important for FIM, it gets a strategic classified partner and input without having to buy the company. Ross Levinsohn, president of FIM, explains, “Fox Interactive Media’s growth strategy is to strategically partner or acquire category leaders and technology innovators that broaden or enrich our users’ experience. Our investment in Simply Hired underscores that approach and we look forward to working with them to power job search for a variety of properties on our network.” Levinsohn is joining its board.
The natural assumption is that SimplyHired will be paired with MySpace.com but it also could fit in with IGN and Scout.com, among other sites. Peter Zollman from Classified Intelligence writes that he’s surprised FIM’s investment is so low. He expects more classified tie-ins for FIM given SimplyHired’s narrow focus on recruitment. His suggestion: A “trading post” section for MySpace.
Including these investments, Mountain View-based SimplyHired.com has raised $17.7 million. Competitors in the jobs search/aggregation space include Indeed.com (investor: New York Times), Oodle, Vast.com and Edgeio.