US-based instant messaging app developer Snapchat is seeking to raise up to $500m of funding at a $19bn valuation, Bloomberg reported yesterday.
Snapchat, which counts internet companies Tencent and Yahoo as past investors, received $485m in series D funding from 23 investors last year and has raised about $630m since it was founded in 2011.
A source told Bloomberg the company is in advanced talks with fund managers over the latest round, which will likely value it at between $16bn and $19bn.
Such a figure would make Snapchat the third most valuable venture capital-backed startup in the world, behind only taxi ordering app Uber and smartphone producer Xiaomi.
Snapchat’s app is best known for providing users with the capability to exchange image messages that disappear in seconds.
However, it has looked to diversify and monetise its service over the past year, introducing advertisements and launching a curated video service called Discover in January this year.
Other past investors in the company include VC firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Benchmark, General Catalyst Partners, SV Angel and Institutional Venture Partners, and investment manager Coatue Management.