Discord, the US-based messaging app developer that counts internet group Tencent and media and entertainment company WarnerMedia as investors, announced $100m in funding yesterday.
Although the company has not confirmed who provided the money, Forbes reported that venture capital firm Index Ventures was involved, and Discord co-founders Jason Citron and Stan Vishnevskiy told Forbes the cash was raised at a $3.5bn valuation.
Discord’s online chat and video platform with 100 million monthly active users, and although it began life as a real-time communication system for gamers, the latest round reflects the widening of its user base as coronavirus lockdowns have pushed socialising online.
CEO Citron and chief technology officer Vishnevskiy said in a blog post: “We have streamlined the new user onboarding experience and added server video so it’s easier than ever to get together. There are new server templates that make it super easy to help your friends create new servers.
“We have fixed hundreds of bugs, increased voice and video capacity by 200% and continue to invest in reliability and performance as our top priority. We have also made the jokes and references within the app less gaming specific to make sure everyone can take part in the fun and make Discord more welcoming.”
Investment firm Greenoaks Capital led Discord’s last round, when it raised $150m from investors also including Tencent, Index Ventures, Technology Opportunity Partners, FirstMark and IVP in late 2018 at a $2.05bn valuation.
The 2018 round boosted Discord’s overall funding to more than $280m. Tencent first invested through a 2015 round of undisclosed size that included Studio 9+ and Benchmark, back when the company was still mobile game studio Hammer & Chisel.
Tencent also participated in a $20m round in 2016 that was led by Greylock and also backed by Benchmark and YouWeb. WarnerMedia took part in its $8.2m series A round in 2013 alongside Benchmark, IDG Capital, Accel and General Catalyst. Its investors also include Spark Capital.
