Snapchat could be worth $10 BILLION: App in major funding talks with Alibaba a year after it rejected Facebook for $3 billion

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Snapchat could be worth $10 BILLION: App in major funding talks with Alibaba a year after it rejected Facebook for $3 billion

Posted by sciencetech-blog on Wednesday, July 30, 2014 Label:

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Snapchat is reportedly in talks with investors, including Alibaba Group Holding, for financing that could value the company at $10 billion (£5.9 billion).

The California-based app, which lets users send messages that disappear after a few seconds, last year turned down a $3 billion (£1.8 billion) offer from Facebook.

At the time, Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel said Mark Zuckerberg warned him Facebook planned to launch a rival service unless he sold.

The California-based app, which lets users send messages that disappear after a few seconds, last year turned down a $3 billion (£1.8 billion) offer from Facebook. Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel (left) said Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg warned him he planned to launch a rival service unless he sold

Google then allegedly offered $4 billion (£2.4 billion) for the company but was similarly rejected.

The terms of the latest funding round may change, according to a report by Bloomberg, who said that it had spoken to sources close to the company.

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Sarah Perez at TechCrunch points out that Tencent, makers of WeChat and an Alibaba competitor, are a covert investor in Snapchat.

If Alibaba does invest in the app, it could intensify competition between the two groups as they battle it out to become leaders in China's tech industry.

Snapchat is reportedly in talks with investors, including Alibaba Group Holding, for financing that could value the company at $10 billion (£5.9 billion)

INSTAGRAM LAUNCHES BOLT TO TAKE ON SNAPCHAT

Instagram has launched a new ephemeral messaging app called Bolt.

The app, which functions in a similar way to Snapchat, allows users to quickly share self destructing photos or videos with a friend.

Like Snapchat, the user can tap on a friend's face to instantly send a photo, or hold their finger down to send a video.

However, Bolt only allows you to send messages to one person at a time, which makes it frustrating if you're looking to distribute photos or videos to a group of friends.

The favourites bar at the bottom of the app also only contains four friends, though you can apparently add up to 20 contacts in total.

Bolt is currently only available in New Zealand, Singapore, and South Africa.

Snapchat is continuing to grow in popularity, with people sending more than 700 million disappearing messages a day.

Last month, Facebook acted on its warning by launching Slingshot, a similar smartphone app, in the hope of replicating Snapchat's success.

The app allows consumers to exchange photos and videos, which will later disappear, without requiring Facebook accounts.

But despite its rapid growth, Snapchat has had a number of obstacles to contend with.

The group this year settled charges with U.S. regulators, which accused it of deceiving consumers by promising that photos sent on its service disappeared forever after a period of time.

According to the Federal Trade Commission at the time, photos sent on Snapchat could, in fact, be saved by recipients using several methods.

Neither Snapchat nor Hangzhou-based e-commerce group, Alibaba, were available for comment.

Tencent, makers of WeChat and an Alibaba competitor, are a covert investor in Snapchat. If Alibaba does invest it the app, it could intensify competition between the two groups as they as they battle it out to become leaders in China's tech industry