Reddit to raise $50M round on $500M valuation -- report

Reddit, the popular social news site that allows people to post just about anything they want and the community to vote items up and down, is in the midst of a major funding round, according to a report.

Reddit is attempting to raise $50 million on a $500 million valuation, Recode reported Sunday, citing people who claim to have knowledge of the company's negotiations. Prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz and Sequoia Capital are expected to participate in the round, according to the report.

Reddit was founded in 2005 with seed funding from Y Combinator, an organization that focuses its efforts on early-stage startups that need a quick boost of cash to get off the ground. Although Recode's sources did not say why, it's believed that at least some people involved at Y Combinator are interested in contributing to the round. The move is an unorthodox one, given Y Combinator's focus on early-stage startups.

That said, if Y Combinator is involved, it might have something to do with Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Over the summer, Ohanian became a partner at Y Combinator and may have pitched the idea of investing in the social news site again.

Reddit attracts about 133 million people to its site each month. People post stories, images, gifs, and other content, and the community votes them up and down. If a site gains prominence on Reddit, a massive amount of referral traffic can follow. Reddit was once a smaller alternative to Digg, which was at one time the top social news site. A large rebellion among Digg users about four years ago led many to leave for Reddit and never come back. Digg lives on as a news aggregator.

Recode's sources didn't say when the funding announcement might be made. It's also unclear whether Reddit will be capable of fetching the $50 million. CNET has contacted Reddit for comment on the report. We will update this story when we have more information.