Reddit, often known as the front page of the internet, has made headlines for a variety of reasons over the years, latest being the Gamestop controversy. The controversy helped Reddit attract new users, which is why it started raising money last year. Today, the social media network has announced that it is looking to raise up to $700 million in its latest Series F funding round led by Fidelity Management in a round that will include participation from other investors. The company has already raised $410 million since the start of the year when small-time traders gathered on its platform in their battle against Wall Street institutions.
This funding round is an unplanned one, but it is being brought to fruition as “Fidelity made us an offer that we couldn’t refuse,” Steve Huffman, Reddit’s co-founder, and CEO, said.
“We are making strategic investments to grow Reddit and our business, including expanding internationally, innovating new ways to foster community, and bolstering our advertising offerings and capabilities,” Reddit said. The company said that they were evolving as a business, maturing, and building the operational structures that would help propel them into the future with transparency, values, and integrity. “These efforts require us to grow our teams and make smart bets on how to make Reddit better, faster, easier to use, and more empowering for communities,” Reddit added.
If this goal is reached, it will propel Reddit’s valuation to more than $10 billion. The social media network already raised $250 million this February in a round led by Vy Capital, and it seems that it has even grander plans. Its valuation has already doubled to $6 billion in February from a year ago.
As it mulls over an IPO, Reddit plans to increase its headcount this year, from 700 to 1,400 employees.
Founded by Steve Huffman, entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian and Aaron Swartz in 2005, the San Francisco-based company is a popular forum for discussions on all kinds of topics and has attracted many experts and enthusiasts. It has fallen behind in the race and is well behind social media giants like Facebook, but it is no pushover.
Backed by Sequoia Capital and China’s Tencent Holdings, the company reached $100 million in advertising revenue in the second quarter of the year, a year-over-year increase of 192%. As of January 2021, Reddit clocked more than 52 million daily active users and over 1,00,000 communities and has expanded in the UK, Australia, and Canada. Reddit is also improving the features of its products and diversifying the Reddit experience to include new ways for communities to connect through video and audio. The company will also build its self-service advertising system.
