Richard Branson Invests in Jack Dorsey's Square

Investment another strong signal for San Francisco-based startup.

Jack Dorsey may finally have someone involved in his startup Square that's more colorful than him.

The found of the San Francisco-based mobile payment company and the co-founder of Twitter announced that Sir Richard Branson has made a significant investment in his company.

"I’m very passionate about helping people start and grow successful businesses, and Square is an incredible technology that inspires and empowers everyone to be an entrepreneur," Branson, the founder of the Virgin empire, said in a statement.

Branson's arrival as an investor in Square may be the company's most significant investor -- at least in terms of name recognition -- since Visa invested in the startup.

The news also comes as Square continues a recent streak of positive news. After recently closing a $100 million Series-C financing round led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, Square also announced a new feature that ditches the need to connect anything to your smartphone or tablet to process credit cards.

Square's Card Case allows customers to open tabs at their favorite stores and make virtual payments with an account tied to a credit card but without ever having to use a credit card.

Dorsey's company also revealed earlier this year that it processed over $2 billion in payments in 2010 and has shipped over 800,000 free card readers to users.

The company also has a $2 billion valuation as of last June.
 

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