Discord secretly submits IPO application! Full analysis of valuation, financial reports, and global expansion strategy

2026-01-07 07:05:59

Discord reportedly has secretly applied for an IPO with the SEC and completed a leadership transition. Relying on subscriptions, advertising, and platform strategies, it aims to position itself as a social infrastructure to tap into the capital markets.

Leadership Change Boosts IPO, Discord Reportedly Files for Secret Listing

According to Bloomberg, sources familiar with the matter reveal that the well-known social platform Discord has secretly submitted an IPO application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and has hired Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase as underwriters.

This San Francisco-based company has been actively expanding its features and business scope in recent years, attempting to transform from a pure gaming voice tool into a comprehensive social platform. To handle the operational scale and complexity after going public, Discord underwent a major leadership change in April 2025, with co-founder Jason Citron stepping down to a consultant role, and veteran executive Humam Sakhnini, formerly of Activision Blizzard and King, taking over as CEO.

Image source: N24 Humam Sakhnini, current CEO of Discord

Sakhnini’s extensive background in the gaming industry and experience in large-scale business expansion are seen as key moves for Discord to strengthen governance and scale its operations ahead of the IPO. Although Discord rejected a $12 billion acquisition offer from Microsoft in 2021, industry observers are closely watching whether it can complete its listing by late 2025 to early 2026 as planned.

Revenue Doubling, Diversified Monetization Supports $15 Billion Valuation

Discord’s financial performance demonstrates strong IPO potential, with annual revenue growing fourfold since 2020, surpassing $600 million annually. According to Sacra’s analysis, Discord’s annual recurring revenue (ARR) by the end of 2024 is estimated at $725 million, about 21% higher than in 2023.

Image source: Sacra Discord’s ARR at the end of 2024 reaches $725 million

Its monetization mainly relies on three pillars:

The core Nitro subscription service, which contributed approximately $207 million in revenue in 2023, with subscriptions reaching 7.3 million by mid-2025;
Server boosting and digital goods sales;
Recently emerging advertising revenue sources, including sponsored quests and video quests launched in 2024.

In terms of valuation, Discord was valued at about $15.2 billion during its private funding round in 2021. Although secondary market activity in 2025 suggests its valuation might be adjusted to around $10 billion, its strong revenue growth rate remains higher than many similar tech companies.

From Gaming Social to Digital Public Space, User Base and Global Market Expansion

According to SQ Magazine data, by early 2025, Discord’s global monthly active users (MAU) exceeded 231 million, with over 30 million servers and 1.1 billion messages exchanged daily. The platform has successfully broken the “gaming-only” label, with up to 54% of users being non-gamers. In the U.S., Discord is especially popular among Generation Z, with about 42% of this demographic reporting weekly use of the platform.

Regarding global distribution, the Asia-Pacific region accounts for 34% of users, making it the fastest-growing area, followed by North America (28%) and Europe (25%). Discord is actively penetrating education, remote collaboration, and various hobby industries. In 2024, nearly 45% of new servers are unrelated to gaming, including school clubs, crypto projects, and programming groups. The U.S. remains the largest market, with over 70 million MAUs, followed by India (39 million) and Brazil.

Technological Innovation and Ecosystem Building, Strengthened by Discord Connect and AI Tools

To solidify its leading position, Discord has launched several product innovation initiatives. Among them, “Discord Connect” is a strategic core aimed at seamless integration with Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Workspace, increasing its share in the professional collaboration industry. Additionally, the platform is rolling out the “Creators Program,” which incentivizes community growth through monetary rewards and takes a 10% cut from server subscriptions as revenue.

For community safety, Discord has heavily integrated AI-driven moderation tools like “AutoMod V2,” with up to 96% of moderation actions now automated, significantly reducing labor costs and enhancing communication security in large communities.

In terms of technological ecosystem, Discord’s Embedded App SDK allows developers to build games, productivity tools, and AI applications directly within servers, further targeting the global social gaming microtransaction market valued at approximately $60 billion.

Market Competition and Regulatory Risks Coexist, Content Moderation Key Post-Listing

Despite strong growth momentum, Discord faces numerous challenges on its path to the public market. In market competition, besides vertical gaming platforms like Steam Chat, Slack, Telegram, and Guilded (acquired by Roblox) are eroding its user base. Operational risks include a low ARPU of about $3.47, indicating difficulties in large-scale monetization without compromising user experience.

More critically, regulatory and compliance challenges remain. The platform has faced criticism for hosting extremist content and has been banned in countries like Russia and Turkey. As a company preparing to go public, Discord must carefully balance maintaining its core “non-algorithmic, private community” identity with meeting public market demands for safety, moderation, and profit growth.

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