Tech and software giant Microsoft is apparently one of many companies in discussions with chat platform Discord about an acquisition.
That's according to Bloomberg, which reports that the Big M is in the running to pay more than $10 billion for the games chat firm. One source told the outlet that Discord going public is more likely than it being bought.
This follows a VentureBeat report about Discord reportedly being up for sale with that kind of a valuation. Outside of Microsoft, we have no idea who is throwing their hat into the ring to buy Discord.
That $10 billion price tag is considerably more than the $7 billion valuation that Discord boasted in December 2020 when it closed its Series H funding round. In June of that year, the company raised $100 million with a $3.5 billion valuation, meaning that Discord's perceived value has almost tripled in just nine months.
The games industry as a whole saw a blockbuster 2020, with companies reporting huge increases in revenue due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. Discord isn't the only firm whose valuation has skyrocketed as a result; Roblox went public in March with a valuation that was seven times higher than in February 2020.
Were Microsoft to splash out $10 billion for Discord, that would be more than the $7.5 billion that it recently spent on Bethesda parent company ZeniMax Media.
