Snapchat, a social ephemeral photo and video-sharing app, is reportedly seeking out new funding at a higher valuation than it has previously attained. According to TechCrunch, the company is in the process of a funding round to raise about $200 million. The new funding comes after a $175 million series F round in March led by Fidelity. At that point, the company was valued at $16 billion. Snapchat commands more than 100 million daily active users, and according to the company, 65% of those send at least one picture or video a day. About 8 billion videos are viewed daily on its platform. The social platform has been looking for ways to monetize and diversify its revenue stream for a while, with things like geo-filters, lenses, the discover section and paid story section placement — the area where users go to find snaps from their friends. advertisement advertisement The company has also been a strong proponent of vertical video formats for ads, because its users operate the core functions of the app almost entirely vertically. Snapchat has set its sights high for 2016, reportedly targeting $300 million in revenue this year -- six times more than its 2015 target. As more large advertisers and publishers partner with them, momentum is on Snapchat’s side. Evan Spiegel, Snapchat co-Founder and CEO, is apparently set on taking the company public, but to do that without a repeat of a Twitter or Facebook IPO debacle, he needs clear sources of revenue. This kind of a valuation will weigh heavily on the company’s eventual IPO (assuming no one forks over $20 billion to acquire it in the meantime). With the addition of $200 million, Snapchat’s total funding will be more than $1.5 billion.
Snapchat, the social photo and video sharing app that has more than 100 million daily active users and eight billion daily video views, is in a funding round to raise nearly $200m, according to TechCrunch, bringing its total funding to more than $1.5bn. In March, the company raised $175m in a series F funding round. The new funding will raise its valuation from $16bn to $20bn.