XIHA Life Receives $1 Million in Seed Funding

Multicultural Social Network Adds Jaiku Founder to the Board


SUNNYVALE, CA--(Marketwire - January 26, 2010) - XIHA Life www.xihalife.com, the world's first truly multilingual and multicultural social network, announced today that it received $1 million in seed funding. Veraventure led the round, joined by international angel investors and the company founders. XIHA Life also announced that Jyri Engeström, former Google Product Manager and co-founder of Jaiku, is coming on as a new member of the board, joining Jan Achrenius and chairman Ville Miettinen.

XIHA Life connects the people of the world through a multilingual, cross-cultural exchange. Simultaneous, real-time translation allows XIHA citizens to share travel tips, pictures, music, videos, games, knowledge and personal perspectives. By transcending language barriers, XIHA allows users to make new friends from around the globe rather than reconnecting with old friends. Users can create blogs and homepages -- or link to other social media -- to share their personal experiences. XIHA community members live in over 200 countries, with no country accounting for more than five percent of total traffic. XIHA is based in Sunnyvale, California, Switzerland and Finland.

"New features like the unlimited HD video uploads and knowledge exchange have ratcheted up our organic growth to an astonishing rate, giving us over 700,000 members to date," said Jani Penttinen, XIHA Life co-founder and CEO. "The new capital infusion will enable us to accelerate mobile platform enhancements and global outreach. We are also delighted to welcome new board member, Jyri Engeström, who brings invaluable Google-scale experience to the ongoing extensions of XIHA's social infrastructure, including mobile phone support."

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Contact Information: Contact info: Terpin Communications for XIHA Life +1 (415) 595-2030