VC Firm Kleiner Lines Up To Invest In Snapchat, Now Estimated At An Insane $10 Billion Valuation
We imagine there's an inspirational poster hanging in Snapchat's offices that reads, "Fortune favors the bold." Certainly Snapchat's founders have been bold in reportedly turning down two seemingly obscene acquisition offers, the first for $1 billion and the second for $3 billion, both from Facebook. Rejecting such high priced bids couldn't have come easy, but in hindsight, Snapchat's gamble may have paid off with the service now valued at $10 billion.
Yes, $10 billion, as hard as that is to fathom. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, that valuation comes by way of a recent investment by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. It appears that Snapchat's goal at present is to bring in multiple investments en route to making it one of the world's biggest private tech startups. It's a lofty ambition with Snapchat not bringing in any significant revenue, and getting Snapchat to admit as much isn't easy.
"The valuation of our business and our capital requirements are the least exciting aspects of supporting the Snapchat community. We have no further comment at this time," a Snapchat spokeswoman said.
Kleiner's investment is reportedly in the neighborhood of $20 million for a less than 1 percent stake in the popular photo sharing service. Should Snapchat live up to its potential and hype, however, the investment would add credibility to Kleiner and help it stand out among other venture capital firms.
When the dust settles, Snapchat needs to figure out a business model, which is something it lacks at this point. Snapchat does have a large base of active users -- more than 100 million people use it every month -- and with frequent updates to the app, it doesn't appear to be losing its mojo among teenagers and young adults. The next step is figuring out how to generate revenue from the service.
Yes, $10 billion, as hard as that is to fathom. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, that valuation comes by way of a recent investment by venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. It appears that Snapchat's goal at present is to bring in multiple investments en route to making it one of the world's biggest private tech startups. It's a lofty ambition with Snapchat not bringing in any significant revenue, and getting Snapchat to admit as much isn't easy.
"The valuation of our business and our capital requirements are the least exciting aspects of supporting the Snapchat community. We have no further comment at this time," a Snapchat spokeswoman said.
Kleiner's investment is reportedly in the neighborhood of $20 million for a less than 1 percent stake in the popular photo sharing service. Should Snapchat live up to its potential and hype, however, the investment would add credibility to Kleiner and help it stand out among other venture capital firms.
When the dust settles, Snapchat needs to figure out a business model, which is something it lacks at this point. Snapchat does have a large base of active users -- more than 100 million people use it every month -- and with frequent updates to the app, it doesn't appear to be losing its mojo among teenagers and young adults. The next step is figuring out how to generate revenue from the service.
