CapitalG, the venture capital arm of Alphabet Inc, has quietly disclosed an investment in Snapchat.
No formal announcement has been made by CapitalG or Alphabet Inc, but the unit – earlier known as Google Capital – was found to have added Snapchat’s logo on its investment portfolio section of its website. Snapchat’s logo can be found next to the logos of other companies backed by Alphabet. Interestingly, Snapchat’s logo is the only one that doesn’t provide extra information about the company.
It is unclear when was investment made, and Alphabet and CapitalG is yet to formally provide details regarding the investment.
Snap Inc, operates Snapchat, the highly popular messaging app, which allows users to send smartphone pictures, which automatically disappear after some time. In 2013, Snap Inc, had reportedly rejected an offer from Facebook to acquire Snapchat.
According to some reports, Snap is busy these days planning an IPO for March 2017, and has hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley as lead underwriters for an IPO. Last month, Snap Inc is said to have notified banks about the highly coveted IPO mandates being offered to them. Experts believe the IPO could see Snap’s valuation shoot up from current $18 billion price tag to estimated $25-35 billion. The major backers of Snap’s IPO include Fidelity, Tencent, Alibaba, Lightspeed and Saudi investment group Kingdom Holding Company.
Recently, CapitalG tweeted that it will soon provide more updates on its equity investment fund and portfolio companies.
“Though our name has changed, our goal remains the same: to make returns-driven investments in leading companies around the world and help entrepreneurs rapidly grow their businesses,” CapitalG writes in a Google+ post.
“CapitalG works with Google experts to advise on product, engineering, marketing, sales, operations, and other essential areas to help companies scale effectively,” the firm added.
