How to Invest in Discord: Pre-IPO Details and Alternatives to Consider

Is Discord publicly traded?

Discord is not publicly traded as of June 2025, so you can't buy Discord stock on the public stock market. A publicly traded company has registered its shares for trading on a public stock exchange such as the Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange, and that hasn't happened yet for Discord.

That said, the company seems interested in joining the stock market. The Discord service is run by a corporation with a management team and a board of directors. Discord shares exist, but you can't buy them through a stock brokerage yet. Instead, most shares are held by the company's founders, and a minority of shares have been picked up by venture capital investors.

The company has raised about $1 billion from private equity firms and gaming industry companies, including well-known names such as Greylock Partners, Fidelity Management, Accel Partners, and Sony (SONY -0.92%) Interactive Entertainment. But private investors like you and me are not on the list of Discord owners just yet.

When will Discord IPO?

The company discussed a merger with software giant Microsoft (MSFT +0.43%) in the spring of 2021, but Discord walked away from the talks without signing a deal. Microsoft reportedly offered $12 billion for the communications startup. The 11th funding round suggested a market value of roughly $15 billion later that year. Discord has continued to raise money since then, but has kept the details of these cash injections under wraps.

This company has been exploring various ways to go public over the years.

• In 2022, Discord started talking to banks about an alternative entry into the stock market, known as a direct listing. In this model, the company doesn't raise any money from investors; existing shareholders simply start selling their stock on the open market.
• One of its largest and most recent investors is Dragoneer, a well-known specialist in special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), or shell companies that file for an initial public offering (IPO) and then use the resulting funds to buy a private company.
• And, of course, Discord could take the traditional IPO route. In that case, it would pocket some money when investors buy the stock on the open market. Investment banks smooth out the flow of shares and typically hang on to a portion of the stock for themselves.

Whatever method Discord decides to use, the company seems likely to enter the public stock market eventually. That's usually the exit strategy for venture capital investors, and Discord has dozens of those. Also, the company's leadership seems tailor-made for a public offering of some sort. For example, CFO Tomasz Marcinkowski previously led Pinterest (PINS -1.74%) to a $13 billion IPO in 2019.

So, the stars are aligning for a Discord IPO. There just isn't any official word on the timing or pricing of that offering yet.

Is Discord profitable?

As a free-to-use social media service, Discord is better known for its rampant growth and deep user engagement than for its moneymaking prospects. The company doesn't even sell ad space in its server communities and discussion threads, which is how social media giants such as X (formerly Twitter) and Meta's (META +1.77%) Facebook make their money.

Instead, Discord is monetized by selling upgrades for server communities and individual user accounts. There are two levels of premium Discord subscriptions: a Nitro Basic plan for $3 per month and the Nitro package for a monthly fee of $10, with benefits that include larger file uploads, more emoji choices in the chat, custom profiles, and access to special activities.

Other revenue streams have appeared more recently. You can play simple party games directly in the Nitro version of the Discord app. The company keeps a 10% fee when servers charge a monthly subscription fee. Server admins can also sell custom emojis, access to exclusive text and voice discussions, and early access to new content. In all cases, Discord takes a 10% fee and passes the rest on to the server's owner and content creators.

It's enough to keep the service running, but it's unclear whether Discord can turn a profit from this user-friendly business model. Any attempt to boost the money flow with larger fees or an advertising program risks pushing away users who want the experience to stay inexpensive and ad-free. Avoiding that delicate balancing act may be a leading reason why the company hasn't gone public yet.

Should I invest in Discord?

Pre-IPO strategies such as the Private Shares Fund or Tencent may be reasonable investments on their own merits. Their Discord exposure should not be the main reason to buy them, however. The financial impact of this social media platform is minuscule in every scenario.

As for picking up Discord shares as soon as the stock goes public, it's too early to tell whether that's a good idea. IPO investments are often risky due to a lack of proven business prospects and uncertain support for the opening day's stock price.

You should look for fresher advice if and when Discord actually announces some sort of IPO. The announcement will be accompanied by a detailed S-1 filing detailing the company's actual business results over the last couple of years. That's a better starting point for an informed investment decision.

The bottom line

Successful investing always requires a patient attitude, and the Discord opportunity is no different. Its massive user base is comparable to industry titans such as Netflix (NFLX -2.99%) or Verizon (VZ +1.05%), but the business value of each Discord user is probably much lower compared to those subscription-based business titans.

Discord is an exciting service with a plethora of deeply committed fans. The path to monetizing that experience is not so clear-cut, though. It's probably best to wait for an IPO and then observe the company for a quarter or two before taking the plunge. There is no substitute for real-world results.

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