Gaming chat platform Discord in early talks with banks about public listing

US group has sought to broaden its appeal to a mass audience

Video game developer Jason Citron founded Discord in 2015 © Kimberly White/Getty Images/TechCrunch

Discord is in early talks with banks about a public listing, according to people familiar with the matter, in a sign of a possible revival in the sluggish US IPO market.

Founded in 2015 by video game developer Jason Citron, Discord offers multi-person voice, video and text-based spaces to its 200mn global monthly active users.

The San Francisco gaming chat platform was considering listing as early as 2021, according to people familiar with the matter. However, many technology companies and investors have put their IPO plans on hold due to political and market uncertainty.

That is expected to change this year as interest rates have fallen and US President Donald Trump has laid out a more tech-friendly regulatory agenda.

Discord was last valued at about $15bn in a 2021 fundraising, according to PitchBook. The company’s revived IPO plans remain subject to change, one of the people said.

“We understand there is a lot of interest around Discord’s future plans, but we do not comment on rumours or speculation,” the company said in a statement shared with the Financial Times. “Our focus remains on delivering the best possible experience for our users and building a strong, sustainable business.”

CoreWeave, an artificial intelligence cloud computing provider, filed for a New York IPO this month that would raise about $4bn and value the group at more than $35bn, which could make it the largest tech flotation of the year.

A series of valuable start-ups, including fintech groups Stripe and Chime and data platform Databricks that had been forced to stay private far longer than planned are expected to reignite plans to list their shares.

Discord initially found popularity among gamers, as well as retail trading and cryptocurrency communities, but has since sought to broaden its appeal to a mass audience.

The company has largely shunned advertising, in contrast to larger rivals such as Meta, X and Reddit, in favour of offering its users premium features for a fee.

In 2021, it attracted interest from multiple Big Tech groups, rebuffing a $12bn takeover bid from Microsoft. The recent IPO plans were first reported by The New York Times.

Gaming chat platform Discord in early talks with banks about public listing

US group has sought to broaden its appeal to a mass audience

Video game developer Jason Citron founded Discord in 2015 © Kimberly White/Getty Images/TechCrunch

Discord is in early talks with banks about a public listing, according to people familiar with the matter, in a sign of a possible revival in the sluggish US IPO market.

Founded in 2015 by video game developer Jason Citron, Discord offers multi-person voice, video and text-based spaces to its 200mn global monthly active users.

The San Francisco gaming chat platform was considering listing as early as 2021, according to people familiar with the matter. However, many technology companies and investors have put their IPO plans on hold due to political and market uncertainty.

That is expected to change this year as interest rates have fallen and US President Donald Trump has laid out a more tech-friendly regulatory agenda.

Discord was last valued at about $15bn in a 2021 fundraising, according to PitchBook. The company’s revived IPO plans remain subject to change, one of the people said.

“We understand there is a lot of interest around Discord’s future plans, but we do not comment on rumours or speculation,” the company said in a statement shared with the Financial Times. “Our focus remains on delivering the best possible experience for our users and building a strong, sustainable business.”

CoreWeave, an artificial intelligence cloud computing provider, filed for a New York IPO this month that would raise about $4bn and value the group at more than $35bn, which could make it the largest tech flotation of the year.

A series of valuable start-ups, including fintech groups Stripe and Chime and data platform Databricks that had been forced to stay private far longer than planned are expected to reignite plans to list their shares.

Discord initially found popularity among gamers, as well as retail trading and cryptocurrency communities, but has since sought to broaden its appeal to a mass audience.

The company has largely shunned advertising, in contrast to larger rivals such as Meta, X and Reddit, in favour of offering its users premium features for a fee.

In 2021, it attracted interest from multiple Big Tech groups, rebuffing a $12bn takeover bid from Microsoft. The recent IPO plans were first reported by The New York Times.

Gaming chat platform Discord in early talks with banks about public listing

US group has sought to broaden its appeal to a mass audience

Video game developer Jason Citron founded Discord in 2015 © Kimberly White/Getty Images/TechCrunch

Discord is in early talks with banks about a public listing, according to people familiar with the matter, in a sign of a possible revival in the sluggish US IPO market.

Founded in 2015 by video game developer Jason Citron, Discord offers multi-person voice, video and text-based spaces to its 200mn global monthly active users.

The San Francisco gaming chat platform was considering listing as early as 2021, according to people familiar with the matter. However, many technology companies and investors have put their IPO plans on hold due to political and market uncertainty.

That is expected to change this year as interest rates have fallen and US President Donald Trump has laid out a more tech-friendly regulatory agenda.

Discord was last valued at about $15bn in a 2021 fundraising, according to PitchBook. The company’s revived IPO plans remain subject to change, one of the people said.

“We understand there is a lot of interest around Discord’s future plans, but we do not comment on rumours or speculation,” the company said in a statement shared with the Financial Times. “Our focus remains on delivering the best possible experience for our users and building a strong, sustainable business.”

CoreWeave, an artificial intelligence cloud computing provider, filed for a New York IPO this month that would raise about $4bn and value the group at more than $35bn, which could make it the largest tech flotation of the year.

A series of valuable start-ups, including fintech groups Stripe and Chime and data platform Databricks that had been forced to stay private far longer than planned are expected to reignite plans to list their shares.

Discord initially found popularity among gamers, as well as retail trading and cryptocurrency communities, but has since sought to broaden its appeal to a mass audience.

The company has largely shunned advertising, in contrast to larger rivals such as Meta, X and Reddit, in favour of offering its users premium features for a fee.

In 2021, it attracted interest from multiple Big Tech groups, rebuffing a $12bn takeover bid from Microsoft. The recent IPO plans were first reported by The New York Times.

The US is suspending military aid to Ukraine as President Donald Trump seeks to increase pressure on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to make concessions just days after the two leaders publicly sparred in the White House over peace talks with Russia.

Trump’s decision halts what has been a consistent supply of US military assistance including weapons to Kyiv since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago.

It comes amid growing tension between Trump and Zelenskyy, as the US president tries to push Ukraine to rapidly settle the conflict with Russia.

A White House official on Monday said: “The president has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”

The move came after Trump renewed his verbal attack on Zelenskyy on social media and in remarks to reporters at the White House on Monday, following the dramatic confrontation in the Oval Office on Friday.

“I just think he should be more appreciative, because this country has stuck with them through thick and thin,” Trump said of Zelenskyy. He also suggested Ukraine’s leader might be out of office if he fails to reach an accord with Moscow.

“It should not be that hard a deal to make,” Trump added. “It could be made very fast. Now maybe somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, and if somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, I think that person won’t be around very long.”

After reports of the freeze emerged on Monday, US secretary of state Marco Rubio appeared to suggest it was tied to a wider diplomatic effort. “We want to get the Russians to a negotiating table. We want to explore whether peace is possible,” Rubio said in a statement, without directly mentioning the suspension.

Trump’s decision will add urgency to efforts in many European capitals to bolster their own military support for Kyiv, because an extended pause in US assistance could give Russian forces a big advantage on the battlefield.

“Cutting off military aid is too much,” said Oleksandr Merezhko, chair of the Ukrainian parliament’s foreign affairs committee, describing Trump’s move as “unbelievable”.

The Institute for the Study of War in Washington on Monday night warned that the decision to cut off US aid would “directly undermine President Trump’s stated goal of achieving a sustainable peace in Ukraine”.

“Russia would leverage the cessation of US aid to Ukraine to seize more territory in Ukraine and attempt to exhaust European support — the approach Putin has outlined in his theory of victory,” it added.

Trump’s move comes after a weekend of intense diplomatic activity in Europe, including a summit hosted by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and a month-long ceasefire plan proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron, to try to forge a settlement on better terms for Kyiv.

It also comes on the eve of Trump’s first address to a joint session of Congress of his second term on Tuesday.

In an interview with Fox News presenter Sean Hannity on Tuesday, US vice-president JD Vance said his “message to Ukrainians” was: “Donald Trump is the only game in town.”

Vance, who joined Trump in berating Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Friday, also called on the Ukrainian president to “engage seriously on the details” of a deal, adding: “The very best security is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine.”

Trump has been trying to agree a deal with Kyiv for access to Ukrainian critical minerals. But the agreement, which US officials see as pivotal to Washington’s backing for Ukraine, was postponed after the clash in the White House.

However, Brian Fitzpatrick, a Republican congressman from Pennsylvania, on Monday said he spoke to Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, and believed the signing of the deal was imminent.

Fitzpatrick wrote on X ahead of the announcement: “We are 100% getting this train back on the tracks. This mineral deal will be signed in short order, which will lead to a strong long-term economic partnership between the United States and Ukraine, and which will ultimately and naturally lead to security assistance.”

“Europe will be required to step up and do its part, and there will be mandates for them to do just that,” he added.

Democrats immediately attacked the suspension of military aid and called for it to be reversed.

“Donald Trump’s decision to unilaterally pause funding for Ukraine is reckless, indefensible, and a direct threat to our national security,” said Brendan Boyle, a Democratic congressman from Pennsylvania.

“The world is watching, and we cannot afford to let Trump’s reckless actions undermine our commitment to our allies and democracy itself.”

Additional reporting by Fabrice Deprez in Kyiv and William Sandlund in Hong Kong