Discord, the US-headquartered online messaging platform developer backed by internet group Tencent and media and entertainment producer WarnerMedia has secured $100m in series H funding, TechCrunch has reported.
The round, which has a $140m target for its close, is being led by investment firm Greenoaks Capital and includes venture capital firm Index Ventures. It values the company at $7bn, double that of its last round, in June this year, when it raised $100m from unnamed investors.
Discord’s platform begun as a way for gamers to chat to each other while playing online, but has evolved into a wider ranging chat platform. It is free to use, but the company also offers a paid upgrade level called Nitro.
The funding comes after a year when Discord doubled its user base to 140 million monthly active users, as the ongoing coronavirus pandemic forced increasing numbers of people to bring their socialising online.
Jason Citro, co-founder and chief executive of Discord, said: “As we look to 2021, we are excited about what we have in store and plan to use this funding to help make Dicord even better – both for our free service and our Nitro subscribers.”
WarnerMedia joined Benchmark, IDG Capital, Accel and General Catalyst to provide $8.2m in series A funding for Discord – then game developer Hammer & Chisel – in 2013. Tencent, Benchmark and Studio 9+ added an undisclosed amount two years later.
The company received $20m in a 2016 round led by Greylock and backed by Tencent, Benchmark and YouWeb and VC firm Benchmark.
Greenoaks Capital subsequently led a $150m round for Discord in late 2018 that also featured Tencent, Index Ventures, Technology Opportunity Partners, FirstMark and IVP, valuing the company at $2.05bn and bringing its overall funding to $280m.
