Snapchat Is Now Said To Be Worth $19 BILLION (!!!) And Why The Hell Didn’t We E-mail Evan Spiegel Back In 2011?

Snapchat, on paper, is worth A LOT of money as it is; Evan Spiegel notoriously declined $3 billion for an acquisition from Facebook in 2013. Their value surged to $10 billion last year. Now brands are starting to embrace Snapchatting thanks to the huge audiences of millennials with cash to burn the platform can deliver. This afternoon Bloomberg is reporting that 24-year-old Evan Spiegel’s disappearing nude pic app (OK, we know it’s more than that) is raising $500 million to seek a $19 billion valuation. That’s some serious coin:

Snapchat Inc. is seeking a new round of funding that would value the company as high as $19 billion, a person with knowledge of the matter said, making it the third-most valuable venture-backed company in the world.

Snapchat, which makes a mobile application for sending photos and videos that disappear within seconds, wants to raise as much as $500 million, said the person, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. Executives are in advanced discussions with fund managers, the person said.

The Los Angeles-based company would be valued at $16 billion to $19 billion in the financing round, the person said. At that level, Snapchat would be ranked behind only mobile car-booking application Uber Technologies Inc. and Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp. in the top three startups backed by venture capital firms, according to data compiled by researcher CB Insights. Xiaomi is valued at $45 billion, while Uber’s latest round pegged its value at $40 billion.

Snapchat’s valuation has skyrocketed since it was born in 2011 out of a Stanford University fraternity house. Chief Executive Officer Evan Spiegel, 24, turned down a $3 billion acquisition offer from Facebook in 2013 and went on to raise funds from 23 investors at a $10 billion valuation last year. That increase has corresponded with a surge in venture spending to the highest level in more than a decade.

Why didn’t we e-mail Evan Spiegel back when Snapchat was still called Picaboo and he pitched it to BroBible in 2011 again? Never forget:

Brandon Wenerd is BroBible's publisher, writing on this site since 2009. He writes about sports, music, men's fashion, outdoor gear, traveling, skiing, and epic adventures. Based in Los Angeles, he also enjoys interviewing athletes and entertainers. Proud Penn State alum, former New Yorker. Email: brandon@brobible.com