Dive Brief:
- Snapchat is seeking a new round of funding to raise as much as $500 million. This would put the value of the startup at up to $19 billion.
- If the funding comes through, Snapchat would be one of the three most top-valued startups in the world—after Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi and transportation app Uber. It would also put it ahead of SpaceX, the buzzed about space transport corporation.
- The potential new valuation comes after Snapchat turned down a $3 billion offer from Facebook last year.
Dive Insight:
It seemed crazy at the time that Snapchat would turn down a very generous offer from Facebook, but clearly that wasn't the case. The messaging app has gained serious credibility from its Discover publishing portal—with publishers like CNN and ESPN posting original content—and the growing number of advertisers running content that users seem to be enjoying. Advertisers scoffed recently when Snapchat reportedly set its ad minimum at $750,000, but it's clear that the disappearing message app has more weight than most anticipated.