Reddit files for IPO, partners with Google for AI model training

Message board site Reddit applied to go public on Thursday, the first major social media to offer an IPO since Pinterest in 2019. The company aims for a New York Stock Exchange listing under the ticker symbol “RDDT.”

Reddit’s IPO filing revealed that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is its third-largest shareholder, with 8.7% of shares.

On the same day, it announced entering a partnership with Google, allowing the tech giant to utilize Reddit posts to train AI models and improve web searches, with the deal valued at approximately $60 million.

The social media platform, founded in 2005 by college roommates Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian (husband of tennis legend Serena Williams), has 73 million daily users and over 100,000 active communities.

Reddit’s bankers are seeking a valuation of at least $5 billion, down from its $10 billion valuation in a 2021 private financing round. It reported a net income of $18.5 million in the last quarter of 2023, alongside revenue of $249.8 million—marking its first profit in two years.

The company had a rough patch last year when more than 7,200 Reddit communities went dark in June, protesting its pricing changes.