Reddit files confidentially to go public

In August, Reddit raked in a hefty $410 million financing led by Fidelity, valuing it at $10 billion. It had plans to close out the round, a Series F, at $700 million at the time.

The company’s CEO Steve Huffman told the New York Times that Fidelity’s investment would give it more time to decide when and how to go public.

Now the news is out that the 16-year-old site has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to go public, the company said Wednesday evening.

Reddit has not yet determined how many shares to offer or the price range for its initial public offering.

There were signs that the well-financed company was readying for an IPO. In March, it announced the hiring of its first-ever CFO, Drew Vollero, who previously worked on Snap’s IPO.

Reddit has raised $1.3 billion in funding so far, according to public information.

The content aggregating behemoth has faced mounting challenges such as presenting itself as a home for communities while trying to police hate speech. A subreddit earlier this year played a pivotal role in massive market rallies for companies like GameStop and AMC.

In 2019, Tencent’s leading role in Reddit’s $300 million Series D stoked fears that censorship would befall the community site. My colleague Jon at the time disputed the speculation.

The hype on Reddit has contributed to its financial success. In Q2, Reddit broke $100 million in advertising revenue. At last count in August, the site attracted 50 million daily visitors and hosted 100,000 active subreddits.

Reddit is raising up to $700M in Series F funding