Reddit is one of the few relics of the mid-2000s internet that has not only survived but thrived in recent years. Now venture capitalists are giving a major boost to the link-sharing website, with funding that will give the company a valuation of about $1.7 billion, two people familiar with the matter said.
In recent weeks, Reddit Inc. was looking for investments totaling about $150 million, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the terms are private. A spokeswoman for Reddit said no funding had been finalized, declining to comment further.
Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian founded Reddit in 2005 as students at the University of Virgina. They joined Silicon Valley business incubator Y Combinator and sold the startup to magazine publisher Conde Nast the next year. It attracted a devoted audience posting links to news, images and video, which fellow users vote on to rank their importance. It's been the birthplace of countless online memes but has also drawn criticism for hosting racist, sexist and anonymous rants.