Yahoo Investment Values Snapchat at $10 Billion

95

Snapchat has added Yahoo as an investor in a financing round that would value the Venice startup at $10 billion, Bloomberg said Wednesday.

The monster round is reportedly still in play. The photo and video messaging app has the opportunity to raise a huge amount of capital as it answers critics’ concerns over its revenue model. Snapchat introduced its first ad this past weekend, saying on its blog that it needed to start making money.

The funding is a smart play for Yahoo, which is flush with cash from its investment in Chinese Internet Alibaba, which went public last month. Yahoo also stands to benefit from Snapchat’s young appeal.

Reports of Yahoo’s interest in the app first emerged earlier this month. VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers was also reported to have participated in the round.

Snapchat and Yahoo representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

Staff reporter Melissah Yang can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @MelissahYang for the latest in L.A. tech news.