Reddit valuation to pass US$10bn following latest funding round

The value of forum website Reddit is expected to rise to over US$10bn after the social media giant unveiled plans to raise over US$700mln in a funding round. On Thursday, the company said the Series F funding round is being led by Fidelity Management and Research Company LLC and also includes some of its other existing investors. According to a New York Times report, Reddit has already raised US$410mln, over half of its target, which is likely to increase hopes the full sum can be achieved. The funding round follows a similar cash raise in February where the company received a capital injection of over US$250mln. It also follows Reddit's blockbuster second quarter, during which it made over US$100mln in advertising revenue for the first time, a 192% increase compared to the same period last year. Reddit’s ability to attract larger sums of money will also raise hopes that the firm can pull off a successful initial public offering (IPO), with co-founder and chief executive Steve Huffman saying that the group is planning to go public but had yet to work out a timeline. The social network rose to prominence earlier this year when a community of retail traders from the Reddit forum r/wallstreetbets helped to spark a buying frenzy in shares of GameStop Corp (NYSE:GME) which then spread to other listed firms including AMC Entertainment Holdings (NYSE:AMC) Inc, BlackBerry Ltd and Nokia Oyj.