Social media service Reddit Inc. says it has raised $300 million in a financing round led by Chinese internet giant Tencent.
Reddit’s CEO, Steve Huffman, told CNBC on Monday that values the privately held company at $3 billion. The company has aggressive plans for growth to capitalize on the new funding.
“We are reinventing the ads business, both on the technology side and our ability to sell it and to create a friendly home for users and brands alike,” Huffman told CNBC. “So we’ve made steady progress on all of these fronts over the last year, and we feel pretty proud of where we are. And as a result we are seeing a lot of attention from both brands and investors.”
Half the new money came from Tencent, Asia’s most valuable tech company. Other investors included Sequoia, Fidelity, Andreessen Horowitz, Quiet Capital, VY and Snoop Dogg.
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The announcement prompted criticism of Reddit for linking itself with a company from China, where the ruling Communist Party enforces extensive online censorship. Access to Reddit is blocked in China.
Tencent operates online games and popular WeChat social media service. It owns 40 percent of “Fortnite” creator Epic Games, which is based in Cary, NC, and 15 percent of photo service Snap.
