New York: Snapchat, the vanishing-image service, is seeking to raise venture capital in a deal that would value the startup at $19 billion, The New York times reported Wednesday. The financing round could provide Snapchat with $500 million, the paper said, quoting a person with knowledge of the discussions.
If it obtains that amount, the privately-held company's valuation would shoot to $19 billion -- nearly double the figure from a year ago. Last year the firm held financing talks on the basis of the company's value being assessed at $10 billion, the Times added. The company was formed by three Stanford University students in 2011.
The deal would make Snapchat one of the highest-valued startups in the world. That valuation of Snapchat would near that of WhatsApp, the instant message service that Facebook acquired last year for nearly $22 billion. In 2013, Snapchat rejected a $3 billion takeover from Facebook, the Times recalled.
