Reddit is mulling a letter from Nokia which alleges the social media of infringing on some of its patents ahead of its initial public offering (IPO) this week.
This follows a Federal Trade Commission inquiry into Reddit’s use of user-generated content to train artificial intelligence models, including through selling and licensing data to third parties.
Reddit is set to list on the New York Stock Exchange through a high-profile IPO this week Thursday.
Sources said over the weekend that the offering was up to five times oversubscribed, with the price of shares due on Wednesday.
It is targeting a valuation of around US$6.5 billion through the offering, having previously been worth closer to US$10 billion after a private fundraising round in 2021.
Reddit has previously been involved in patent disputes, such as the one with Nokia, with the firm suggesting such litigation was likely as it grows larger.
"As we face increasing competition and become increasingly high profile, the possibility of receiving more intellectual property claims against us grows," the firm said in a statement.