Reddit raises a further $116m from investors

24 Feb 2021

Image: © Aleksei/Stock.adobe.com

The latest capital injection brings the company’s Series E round to $367m, while it is planning to raise $500m in total.

Reddit has secured $116m in additional funding from investors just a few weeks after its last investment announcement.

According to a filing with the SEC, the company has raised a further $116m. This comes on top of the $250m it announced earlier this month. The filings state that the company is seeking to raise $500m in total in this Series E round.

Names of the investors have not been disclosed but Reddit told TechCrunch that the backing is from “new and existing investors”.

Reddit’s previous backers include Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz. It is reportedly valued at $6bn.

The fundraising comes at a time when Reddit has been in the spotlight over its role in the recent GameStop rally and short squeeze. Retail investors on the subreddit r/Wallstreetbets had coordinated investments in the beleaguered games retailer to take on hedge funds that had shorted its stock.

The incident led to GameStop’s stock price soaring and questions being asked of Reddit’s role in the saga. Chief executive Steve Huffman and several other companies were brought before a US congressional hearing to explain what happened and whether market manipulation took place.

Huffman defended the company’s forum and its users, saying r/Wallstreetbets is simply a place for retail investors to share tips and is no different to stock market media coverage.

“On Reddit you’re seeing retail investors who are giving authentic advice based on their knowledge, and you would not call into question positions they may hold before they talk about it on television.”

Robinhood, the stock trading app at the centre of the rally, came in for harsher criticism from lawmakers over its decision to restrict GameStop trades during the height of the frenzy.

For Reddit, the incident was the latest in a slew of user issues it faces and difficult questions it must address around content moderation.

Announcing the previous funding, Reddit said it would continue to invest in new ways to share content as well as making “strategic investments in Reddit including video, advertising, consumer products and expanding into international markets”.

Jonathan Keane is a freelance business and technology journalist based in Dublin

editorial@siliconrepublic.com