Messaging service start-up Snapchat Inc. has ended 2014 by raising $485.63 million from a group of investors.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on New year's Eve, Snapchat said it raised the money from 23 investors, bud did not disclose the name of those investors.
Ephemeral messaging service Snapchat has been on a capital raising spree for the past few months that would make it a valuable private tech starup despite having virtually no revenues.
The new capital will reportedly enable Snapchat to diversify into advertising. The company has been in talks to secure capital from a mix of venture-capital firms, money managers and companies.
In October 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported that search giant Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) was close to making a $20 million investment in Snapchat.
The WSJ had reported in August that venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers agreed to invest up to $20 million in Snapchat. According to the WSJ report, the investment would give Kleiner a stake of less than 1 percent in Snapchat, but would value the Los Angeles-based startup at almost $10 billion.
Earlier in August, media reports indicated that Snapchat was in talks with investors, including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (1688.HK), for financing that would value the company at $10 billion. But talks with Alibaba reportedly ended later.
In mid-June, Facebook Inc. (FB) said it launched a new photo and video sharing app called Slingshot, which would be immediately available in the U.S. for iPhones and Android phones. The app is Facebook's answer to Snapchat, which reportedly rebuffed Facebook's $3 billion takeover bid in 2013.
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