Dive Brief:
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Venice, CA-based Snapchat, founded in 2011, is reportedly in talks with investors about a round of financing that could value the startup temporary photo-messaging service at $10 billion.
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Snapchat (apparently wisely) turned down an offer from Facebook last year for $3 billion, when its founders said they weren’t interested in selling out.
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Chinese e-retail giant Alibaba Group Holdings is reportedly in talks with Snapchat this round.
Dive Insight:
The spurning of Facebook’s $3 billion offer last year recalls the new HBO comedy Silicon Valley, which hilariously portrays the way tech negotiations can quickly escalate into super-big-dollar investment deals. With this level of investment, Snapchat would likely significantly change up its model to boost marketing efforts and e-commerce and m-commerce, going the way of most social media these days.
As for an investment from Alibaba, the e-retail company is known for making investments seemingly disjointed from its Amazon-like business model. Some experts say that these moves (including an investment in Lyft, a ride sharing service) are all part of its overall strategy to expand to the States.
