Snapchat Inc, among a pack of elite technology startups that has attained a valuation of US$10 billion or more, capped last year with a filing that disclosed it raised US$485.6 million.
The Los Angeles-based company, which makes a mobile application for sending annotated photographs that disappear within seconds, said in the filing that it raised the money from 23 investors.
Snapchat, led by chief executive Evan Spiegel, did not disclose the investors’ names or the company’s valuation.
ALIBABA
The filing is the first disclosure by Snapchat about its fundraising, which has been in process for months. Bloomberg News reported last year that the startup had been in discussions with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) to raise money at a US$10 billion valuation.
While the talks with Alibaba ended, Snapchat has drawn other investors into the fundraising, including Yahoo Inc and venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Snapchat spokeswoman Mary Ritti did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The filing punctuates how last year was a year of skyrocketing valuations for many closely held technology startups.
Numerous companies — from business software makers to mobile device app developers — have been valued at more than US$1 billion this year as investors have piled into startups seeking fast growth.
UBER
Last month, mobile car-booking company Uber Technologies Inc said it had raised money at a US$40 billion valuation, while Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp (小米) said that it had gotten funding at a US$46 billion valuation.
Snapchat has been developing a business model for advertisers to share disappearing stories. Users send more than 700 million disappearing “snaps” a day and more than 500 million stories are viewed daily, the company has said.
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