According to two people familiar with the discussions, investment bankers have met with Discord, the social chat app that is widely used by the video game community, in recent weeks to discuss getting ready for an IPO as early as this year.
A well-known technology company's I.P.O. could give private businesses considering public listings a much-needed shock. The I.P.O. market has started the year slowly due to market volatility brought on by an uncertain economy and high values for privately owned enterprises.
Discord was last valued by private investors in 2021 at around $15 billion.
The people, who sought anonymity because the meetings are classified, warned that the talks were still exploratory and that I.P.O. plans remained subject to change.
A representative for Discord said on Wednesday: “We understand there is a lot of interest around Discord’s future plans, but we do not comment on rumors or speculation. Delivering the greatest experience for our users and creating a solid, long-lasting business continue to be our top priorities.
Despite increasing volatility in the financial markets, other businesses are getting ready to go public. This week, CoreWeave, a cloud computing company that offers AI services, filed for an I.P.O. According to CoreWeave's petition, the company made almost $1.9 billion in revenue and lost $863 million.
Jason Citron and Stanislav Vishnevskiy, two tech workers who first collaborated to create a video game studio, founded Discord. The two came up with the concept for Discord after publishing their first game and noticing that they had trouble interacting with one another online when playing a game. In May 2015, the initial version of Discord was made available on desktop computers and smartphones.
Gamers embraced the platform, which allows people to chat over text, voice, and video calls inside the app for free. Discord also experienced a rise in use during the early days of the pandemic. The company held takeover talks with Microsoft in 2021 for a rumored $10 billion, yet no transaction transpired.
Ninety-three percent of the 200 million monthly users of Discord use the app for gaming.
The business uses a "freemium" business model, where users can use the applications for free and pay for subscriptions to access more advanced features like personalized emojis and better audio and video chat. Discord makes money without the help of advertisements.
Discord has made an effort to broaden its user base in recent years by enlisting singers, influencers, and other celebrities who have set up Discord chat rooms where their followers may congregate and create virtual communities.
Additionally, Discord is beginning to grow its clientele. In 2023, the business opened an online store where customers could purchase bespoke graphics for their digital avatars and improve their profiles.
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