Citing progress on a number of fronts, Reddit announced this morning it plans to raise an additional $700 million, valuing the company at more than $10 billion.<\/p>\n
The late-stage Series F financing round will be led by Fidelity Management and Research and will involve other existing investors in the company. The influx of funding will help subsidize investments in advertising, international expansion and staffing, the company said in a blog post.<\/p>\n
“We are optimistic and encouraged that not only are we resourced and capitalized to continue on our growth path, but also that our investors support our vision and want to deepen their stakes in our future,” the post added.<\/p>\n
The privately held social platform said it had its first $100 million advertising revenue quarter in the second quarter, with ad sales soaring 192% over the same period a year earlier. It has also expanded in the UK, Canada and Australia and hired its first chief financial officer.<\/p>\n
While the communities on Reddit are proudly unruly, they have demonstrated value for brands, politicians, entertainers and many others. Retail investors have recently used Reddit as their base camp, creating popular forums like WallStreetBets and coordinating plays for companies like GameStop and AMC Entertainment. That added dimension of the platform, plus momentum for digital advertising, has helped it to nearly double in value from a year ago when it was worth $6 billion.<\/p>\n
Based in San Francisco and founded in 2005, Reddit counts venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Tencent Holdings and Snoop Dogg among its investors. It said in January it has more than 52 million daily active users and more than 100,000 communities.<\/p>\n