[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] The valuation of the audio-based social networking service (SNS) Clubhouse has surged nearly fourfold in three months, reaching $4 billion (approximately 4.468 trillion KRW).
According to Business Insider and others, Clubhouse announced that it successfully raised funds in an investment round led by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, with a company valuation of $4 billion. This marks a fourfold increase in valuation compared to the $1 billion valuation during the funding round in January.
DST Global, Tiger Global, and Elid Gil, a former Google executive, participated in this funding round, though the exact amount raised was not disclosed. Sources indicated that the amount raised this time is expected to exceed the $1 billion raised in the previous round.
The funds are expected to be used for global business expansion and the application of a revenue model launched earlier this month. The payment feature, a recently introduced revenue model by Clubhouse, is a simple remittance function that allows users to send cash directly to the account of the moderator leading the conversation.
Launched in April last year, Clubhouse gained fame as an "insider app" that requires an invitation to join, celebrating its first anniversary. As of the end of February, it surpassed 6 million active users, rapidly expanding its user base. However, concerns about growth stagnation persist due to the lack of an Android version and failure to secure teenagers as a primary user group.
According to Bloomberg News, Twitter was negotiating to acquire Clubhouse for $4 billion earlier this month but halted talks for unspecified reasons. The news agency did not disclose why the negotiations ended and only reported that Clubhouse is currently in discussions with investors for fundraising.
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