Reddit Inc on Monday confirmed a new funding round that included a US$150 million investment by Chinese technology behemoth Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊), prompting concerns that “the front page of the Internet” might wind up censored.
San Francisco-based Reddit raised a total of US$300 million at a US$3 billion valuation, with investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Fidelity Investments, Sequoia Capital and Tencent, chief executive Steve Huffman told CNBC.
The TechCrunch Web site reported about the funding round last week, but that information was unconfirmed until now.
Reddit said it planned to use the money for international expansion and to enhance its digital ad platform to better compete in a market where Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google take in most of the revenue.
“We are the only company at our scale that is still a private company, so we have had a lot of investor attention in the last year,” Huffman told CNBC.
News of Tencent buying into the popular social news Web site, which is banned in China, prompted concerns by some users that the platform could be vulnerable to the kind of online censorship that takes place in that country.
Reddit users protested, some posting pictures known to be banned in China, such as cartoon character Winnie the Pooh.
A “Pooh” picture voted to near the top of the Reddit home page bore the caption: “Since Reddit took a US$150 million investment from Chinese Censorship company Tencent, please welcome our leader [Chinese] President Xi [Jinjing (習近平)].”
Images of the storybook bear were reportedly banned online in China after bloggers used them to represent Xi in posts.
Reddit was cofounded by Alexis Ohanian, husband of tennis superstar Serena Williams.
It is ranked among the most visited US Web sites, and has more than 138,000 “communities” for discussions on various topics.
The site boasts that, on average, more than 330 million people use it each month, contending that half of those users range in age from 18 to 24.
Reddit is also known for ask-me-anything sessions with well-known people such as Microsoft Corp cofounder Bill Gates and former US president Barack Obama.
Tencent has invested in a broad array of companies, including Tesla Inc, Snapchat-parent Snap Inc and Epic Games Inc — the maker of popular video game Fortnite.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
CHEMICAL FIRE: 10 Indian employees were injured by smoke inhalation at a Tata Electronics plant in Tamil Nadu state that produces components for Apple Inc At least 10 people received medical treatment, with two hospitalized after a major fire on Saturday disrupted production at a key Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd plant in southern India that makes Apple Inc’s iPhone components. The fire occurred at the plant in the city of Hosur in Tamil Nadu state that makes some iPhone components. It broke out near another building inside the Tata complex, which was to begin producing complete iPhones in the coming months. The fire was contained to one building and has been extinguished fully, top district administrative official K.M. Sarayu said. No decision has been made on when
RSS