Discord, the social communications platform common with videogame gamers and programmers, is working with Goldman Sachs Group and JPMorgan Chase & Co on an preliminary public providing, in line with individuals acquainted with the matter.
The corporate may search a inventory market itemizing as quickly as this 12 months, stated the individuals, who requested to not be recognized as a result of the data is non-public. Discord’s plans for an IPO, together with the timing, may nonetheless change, the individuals stated. The corporate may additionally add different advisers as its plans evolve.
Representatives for Discord, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan declined to remark.
Discord had beforehand thought of going public through a direct itemizing relatively than a conventional IPO. Final 12 months, its CEO stated the corporate would “most likely go public”, however didn’t give particulars or a timeframe.
Based in 2015, San Francisco-based Discord was initially a voice and textual content chat app for players to debate their methods. Its reputation soared in the course of the coronavirus pandemic, and in 2021 the corporate rejected a US$12-billion takeover supply from Microsoft Corp., individuals acquainted with the matter stated on the time.
Between 2020 and 2024, Discord’s income quadrupled to greater than $600-million on an annualised foundation, individuals with information of the matter stated. The corporate makes cash by charging $3 to $10 for month-to-month subscriptions for premium options like customized emoji and bigger content material add sizes — a product referred to as Nitro that’s doing “remarkably nicely”, stated chief know-how officer Stanislav Vishnevskiy throughout an interview in March on the Sport Builders Convention in San Francisco.
Social SDK
Videogame firms additionally pay Discord to promote video games. Final week, Discord launched its Social SDK, which integrates the chat app’s social options into videogames like Scopely’s Marvel Strike Power.
Discord’s long-term aim is to be “on the centre of gaming”, and to assist videogame firms discover audiences, Vishnevskiy stated.
The corporate’s backers embrace Index Ventures, Greylock Companions, Benchmark, Accel and Spark Capital. It has raised $1.1-billion in financing so far and was final valued at $14.7-billion after a funding spherical in 2021, in line with information supplier PitchBook.
Learn: Meta to face antitrust trial over WhatsApp, Instagram acquisitions
Discord has confronted scrutiny around the globe as regulators search extra management over digital platforms. Within the US, the chat app has generally been used as a gathering place for extremists, whereas Russia and Turkey have banned use of the app. — Katie Roof, Ryan Gould and Cecilia D’Anastasio, (c) 2025 Bloomberg LP
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