Snapchat Reportedly Seeking $16-19 Billion Valuation In Funding Round

According to a new report, Snapchat thinks they're worth between $16-19 billion. The last time we learned about Snapchat's market value, it was August — and they were valued at $10 billion based on 100 million monthly users. While we're not hearing what Snapchat's current monthly user statistics are, it's likely not why they're raising funds or seeking a larger valuation. If they were successful in raising cash, Snapchat would become the third largest startup on Earth, behind only Uber and Xiaomi.

The disappearing messaging service is trying to raise as much as $500 million.

New funding and a larger valuation likely have nothing to do with monthly users this time around. With advertising, Snapchat is finally starting to monetize, which gives investors cause to expect a return on their investment.

Snapchat is also sourcing exclusive content via their new Discover tab. The curated feed makes Snapchat a destination, with some media agencies placing exclusive content on Snapchat to entice users to check it out.

There's also room for more monetization and growth (as well as finding a new audience) with 'Our Story', Snapchat's localized content portal. With Our Story, content form those on the scene is fed into a specialized feed, which can be viewed by anyone.

Snapchat execs are said to be in advanced talks with fund managers about raising capital, but the talks are private.

Source: Bloomberg