Snapchat has officially raised $50 million in its third round of funding, according to a Snapchat spokesperson who confirmed the funding with VentureBeat, saying Coatue Managment is the newest investor.
The funding was provided by only one investor. The spokesperson told VentureBeat that the money will go toward “growing the business,” which is about as clear as saying I use my salary to pay for stuff.
Snapchat CEO Evan Speigel revealed the news to TechCrunch earlier today. A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission lists Michael Lynton, a Sony Entertainment’s chief executive, as well as Benchmark general partner Mitch Lasky, as directors of the company. Both appear on past Snapchat filings.
Today’s confirmation corrects VentureBeat’s report from last week stating that Snapchat was raising a $55 million round of funding. The report was based on a Delaware state filing provided to VentureBeat by VCexperts. With the $55 million rumored raise, the company would also then get a valuation of $2 billion. That valuation has not been independently confirmed.
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This followed even more rumors, originating with the Wall Street Journal, that Snapchat was raising a huge $200 million round with a valuation of $3.6 billion. All of this follows Snapchat’s $60 million second round of funding, which it completed only six months ago, and rumors that the company turned down a $3 billion acquisition offer.
The company’s sole product is a free photo-sharing app in which you can set the photo to “self-destruct,” or delete itself from the app and Snapchat’s servers, within a certain amount of time.
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