Chat startup Discord Inc. roughly doubled its valuation to $7 billion in a financing that comes amid the service’s efforts to expand its user base beyond videogamers.
The San Francisco-based company said it raised $100 million in a funding round led by venture-capital firm Greenoaks Capital, which was already an investor in the company.
Discord makes voice- and text-communication software that is popular among computer and mobile gamers because it allows them to hang out and talk with their friends and communities. The service’s rise coincides with the explosion in popularity and valuation of online multiplayer games such as Epic Games Inc.’s “Fortnite.”
The financing comes as the company tries to become popular with more mainstream users. In September, for instance, the company hired former Nike Inc. marketer Tesa Aragones to serve as chief marketing officer to oversee Discord’s expansion beyond gaming.
Discord expects to notch more than $100 million in revenue this year, three times the previous year’s level, according to a person familiar with the matter. The service has 140 million monthly active users, double what it had last year, the person added.
