Reddit, the widely recognized social media platform, has initiated the process to become a publicly traded company, 19 years post its inception. The significant move was announced by CEO Steve Huffman on Thursday, who shared his enthusiasm about the company’s future potential.
In an open letter, Huffman remarked, “I have never been more excited about Reddit’s future than I am right now,” signaling a positive outlook for the company’s upcoming venture into the public market.
The company’s remarkable growth is evident in its financials, with a reported revenue surge of $804 million in 2023, marking an ascent of over 20 percent from the previous year. Reddit’s transparency through public filings disclosed that joint earnings of CEO Huffman and COO Jennifer Wong tallied up to $286 million in the same year, inclusive of stock and option awards. While the figures project future value over several years, the present cash value is significantly lesser.
Reddit’s daily engagement statistics showcase an impressive average of over 76 million visitors in the month of December, as stated by the company.
Founded by Huffman and his college roommate Alexis Ohanian—who is also notably the spouse of tennis icon Serena Williams—Reddit changed hands back in 2006 for a modest sum of $10 million. Fast forward to 2021, the valuation skyrocketed to an estimated $10 billion. Huffman retook the helm as CEO in 2015 with a focus on priming Reddit for an Initial Public Offering (IPO).
In a tangible demonstration of its earning capacity, Reddit recently made headline with an agreement to receive $60 million annually from Google. The tech giant aims to utilize Reddit’s content to enhance the training of its AI models, illustrating just one of the many avenues through which Reddit is capitalizing its assets.
Reddit’s leap towards an IPO marks a significant milestone in the company’s trajectory, hinting at an optimistic and robust financial landscape for the social media entity amidst the competitive tech market.
