By Somesh Dash and Alex Lim
Last week, Discord confirmed media reports that it recently raised a new round of growth financing, and we are pleased to announce today that IVP served as the lead investor in the financing.
It's no secret that Discord is one of the most exciting private consumer Internet companies out there today. It's our belief that Discord has a very good shot at being one of the iconic consumer companies of the next decade (and hopefully beyond!).
IVP is a leading later-stage venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, CA. We have been incredibly fortunate to be early backers of several game-changing consumer Internet companies, including Coinbase, Dropbox, Snap, Supercell, and Twitter. Just as these companies transformed their respective markets, we believe Discord has the potential to transform the gaming industry. Here is why we invested:
Passion for Gaming: True greatness emerges when mission-driven founders innovate around massive market opportunities. Jason Citron, CEO of Discord, is a life-long gamer and serial entrepreneur. He has also assembled a talented team who are all truly passionate about Discord's mission of bringing people together around games. We rarely see a team so dedicated, focused, and driven to change the market they serve. When we do find them, we focus our efforts on how to help them unlock their ultimate potential.
Users
Discord: Discord's voice, video, and text chat platform is built for the specific needs of gamers. Discord's easy-to-use core product is 100% free and jam-packed with features like crystal-clear voice chat, robust security, screen sharing, game integrations, and sweet tunes. Users love the product, and as a result, Discord's engagement metrics are amongst the best we have ever seen.
Breakneck Speed: At IVP we focus on companies in the hyper-growth stage and Discord is scaling and growing incredibly fast. Users are joining at an astonishing rate, and the company recently announced they had reached over 90M registered accounts less than three years after launch. We believe in a future where every gamer uses Discord every time they play.
Gaming Goes Mainstream: Thanks to the growth of online multiplayer games, mobile gaming, and new ways to create and share video content, games have become a $100BN industry and a core part of popular culture. A recent example: last month, the rapper Drake joined up with super-streamer Ninja for a casual game session and over 600,000 people tuned in live to watch them play! And before you ask, of course, they used Discord to chat!
A Bright Future: Like other successful messaging platforms, Discord benefits from strong network effects. Initially, it was small groups of friends chatting on Discord. Now, game developers and publishers, esports teams, online communities, and international influencers are building and engaging with massive audiences on Discord. We don't see this momentum slowing down, and with partnerships like the recently announced deal with Microsoft Xbox, we think Discord can expand its reach and become a global hub for gaming.
Great Co-investors: Discord's current investors include Benchmark, Greylock, Index, and Spark, which are some of the top venture capital firms in the world. We had the privilege of co-investing with these firms previously in some of our most successful investments and are delighted to collaborate with them again on Discord.
Because They Let Us: When Discord decided to raise a new financing round, IVP was one of a few firms considered as a potential lead investor. Discord is already a massive success, so we are thankful for the opportunity to partner with the company. Thank you to Jason, his team, and the Discord Board of Directors for choosing IVP. We look forward to working together in the years to come. Game on!
Somesh Dash is a General Partner at IVP, a later-stage venture capital firm based in Menlo Park, CA. Alex Lim is a Senior Associate at IVP.
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