Social media platform Reddit Inc is in renewed talks for going public in the second half of 2023, according to a report by The Information citing “people familiar with the matter”.
Reddit, which is partially owned by US mass media group Advance Publications, initially filed for an IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in December 2021 after interest in the social media platform picked up amid the year’s infamous meme stock frenzy.
Retail investors used the /wallstreetbets subreddit to organise a short squeeze on private equity firms that were shorting AMC, Gamestop and Bed Bath & Beyond shares.
But IPO discussions were put on hold in 2022 after the equities markets took a sharp nosedive and investor sentiment cooled off.
If recent reports prove accurate, it could be a promising sign of a tide change for struggling tech stocks.
Proactive has reached out to Reddit for further details on the matter.
What is Reddit?
Founded back in 2005 by college friends Steve Huffman (the group’s current chief executive), Alexis Ohanian and Aaron Swartz, Reddit is a social media platform consisting of user-created community boards called subreddits.
Content ranges from political and cultural discussions to memes and gaming.
A funding round in August 2021 led by Chinese conglomerate Tencent valued the business at over US$10bn.
Previous funding rounds were led by Fidelity Management and Sam Altman, chief executive of ChatGPT developer OpenAI.
Altman briefly acted as Reddit’s chief executive in 2014 following the resignation of Yishan Wong.
The group predominantly earns revenue through advertising. The most recent statistic was shared back in 2021, when it announced US$100mln in advertising revenues for the second quarter.
An ad-free premium membership plan also generates revenues.