OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been revealed as one of Reddit’s biggest shareholders, according to the company’s IPO filing. Altman’s entities hold 8.7% of Reddit’s outstanding shares, making him the third-largest shareholder in the company, behind Advance Publications and Tencent.
Altman’s stake is significant, with 4.5% of Class A shares and 9.3% of Class B shares. The size of his stake was not previously known, although he was known to be an investor in Reddit.
The IPO filing also highlighted Reddit’s focus on artificial intelligence as a potential growth area, aligning with Altman’s interests in AI through his role at OpenAI.
Reddit has recently entered into a data licensing agreement valued at $203 million, which is expected to contribute to the training of future large language models (LLMs).
Reddit’s IPO Filing
Reddit has filed its IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission, marking a significant step toward its market debut on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “RDDT.”
According to the filing, Reddit improved $804 million in annual sales for 2023, a 20% increase from the previous year’s $666.7 million.
Despite its substantial user base and revenue growth, the company reported a net loss of $90.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, an improvement from a $158.6 million loss the year prior.
The platform, known for its vast array of over 100,000 communities and significant daily and weekly active users, has faced challenges in building an online advertising business to compete with giants like Facebook’s Meta and Google’s Alphabet.
Reddit’s Unique IPO
Reddit’s IPO is unique, as the company plans to offer shares to its top users, including moderators and those with high karma scores, during its IPO.
Additionally, the involvement of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman introduces a complex layer to Reddit’s IPO narrative.
Altman, holding 8.7 percent of the company’s stock, emerges as the third-largest shareholder, positioning him to potentially profit significantly from Reddit’s market debut.
Reddit’s IPO filing has revealed that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is one of the biggest shareholders in the company. Altman’s entities hold 8.7% of Reddit’s outstanding shares, making him the third-largest shareholder in the company.
The size of his stake was not previously known, although he was known to be an investor in Reddit. Reddit has recently entered into a data licensing agreement valued at $203 million, which is expected to contribute to the training of future large language models (LLMs).
