Discord Stock: How to Invest Before the IPO

Explore ways to own Discord stock as the company approaches its IPO date. Monitor the Hiive* pre-IPO marketplace for the latest share availability.

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Recent Discord News

11/25/2024: Jason Citron on Harry Stebbings’s on 20VC Podcast
03/30/2024: Discord to Start Showing Ads for Gamers
01/11/2024: Discord is laying off 17 percent of employees
10/19/2023: Discord expands online marketplace as it tries to justify $15 billion valuation
Older news…

About Discord

Discord is a digital platform used to create online communities. It uses voice (VoIP), video, chat, text, and media to enable private groups or people with like-minded interests to meet online securely and privately. 

It was spawned from the video game industry and associated subreddit communities but has since expanded beyond gaming. Discord’s accelerated growth is due, in part, to privacy concerns with social media platforms such as Facebook.

Users can access Discord via software download, web browser, or mobile phone app. 

Discord is not a typical social media platform. Rather, a software package of communication tools that serve communities of similar interests, more similar to Slack than Bluesky or Telegram. 

The company was founded by Jason Citron and Stanislav Vishnevsky. The software was released in May 2015.

In 2021, Discord was #3 on CNBC’s Disruptor List. 

Here’s a demo video by Discord that explains how the platform works using a fictional dodgeball team. 

Ownership

The shareholders include founders, early investors (venture capital firms), and employees.

Discord has raised just under $1 billion (~$990 million) since its founding.

The most recent raise was a Series I $500 million funding round completed in September 2021.

Multiple news outlets have reported Discord intends to conduct an IPO when market conditions improve. 

Prominent venture capital firms invested in the company include Dragoneer, YouWeb’s 9+ incubator, Accel Partners, Benchmark, Tencent Holdings, Greylock Partners, Index Ventures, Greenoaks Capital, and Sony.

Valuation

The September 2021 Series I funding round confirmed the Discord valuation at $15 billion. 

But that funding round was completed at the height of IPO euphoria in 2021.

Private transactions on the Hiive pre-IPO marketplace took place at a 60% discount to that valuation in early 2024. 

IPO Potential

The Discord IPO date is currently unknown. A report in March 2022 suggested an IPO could come that year. But a late 2023 or 2024 IPO now seems more likely, pending broader market and banking conditions.  

The company is operating from cash flow and previous funding rounds.

We won’t get a better sense of when the Discord IPO date is until some of the following things happen:

• The company announces another funding round
• New information about the Discord IPO date leaks to the financial press
• Discord announces (or leaks) that it filed an S-1 confidentially with the SEC
• The SEC releases a publicly available Discord S-1 filing
• Announcement (or press leak) of a forthcoming SPAC merger
• Discord selects a lead underwriter or banking partner for the IPO

These milestones and announcements will serve as supporting evidence of progress toward a forthcoming public offering.

Even when the company and SEC publicly release the S-1 filing, we still won’t know a firm date. However, the IPO date typically occurs a month or two after the S-1 is released to the public.

Bookmark this page for the latest Discord stock and IPO news.

How to Buy Discord Stock

Generally, it’s challenging to acquire shares of high-demand IPOs. Most investors will need to settle for buying the stock after it begins trading. 

However, Discord is actually very easy to own TODAY (see #1). And there may be other opportunities today or down the line. 

With that, here are four potential ways to own Discord Stock: 

• Buy Discord stock Pre-IPO via SoFi or other investing platforms
• Buy Discord stock after the Discord IPO
• Buy Discord stock during the Discord IPO through a broker
• Directed Share Program

1. Buy Discord stock pre-IPO

As of early November 2022, the ARK Venture Fund led by Cathie Wood, has purchased a stake in Discord. 

All U.S.-based investors are now eligible to invest in the fund for a $500 minimum investment.

You will only own a small portion of the company. But the fund is a diversified way to own a pool of pre-IPO startups. You’ll gain access to several high-growth companies with one purchase. 

If you are an accredited investor, there may be additional options. 

Founders, early employees, and investors are often in a difficult predicament. They own valuable shares of a company that doesn’t trade publicly. 

These shareholders might have multi-million dollar net worths because of their stock holdings, but the stock is not liquid because it doesn’t trade on an exchange. 

A few platforms have evolved to allow these individuals to liquidate their holding before the IPO.

Prominent investing platforms include Hiive, Linqto, EquityZen, and Forge. Learn more about pre-IPO investing here. 

These sites bring liquidity to an otherwise illiquid asset. Accredited investors (those with invested assets > $1,000,000) may join these sites and attempt to buy company shares when they become available. 

The shares are only offered to accredited investors because the company’s financials are not publicly filed with regulators yet, increasing the investors’ risk. 

High demand for high-profile companies will lower your chances of acquiring shares.

The author considers this a low-likelihood way to acquire shares. However, some readers have written me to share their success stories. Pre-IPO investing marketplaces are gaining in popularity with selling shareholders. 

2. Buy Discord stock after the Discord IPO

Since acquiring IPO shares is almost always challenging for individual investors, the easiest way to own Discord stock is to wait for the IPO to complete. 

Realistically, unless your brokerage account is worth more than $1 million and your broker regularly receives IPO allocations, you are unlikely to get in on high-demand IPOs. 

Though several smaller brokers are offering IPO access, share supply for high-demand deals is tight. 

In some cases, patient investors can buy the stock at or below the IPO price. This is not always true.

The Airbnb IPO, for example, soared and never looked back. But Robinhood fell on the IPO date and days after before recovering.

Spending significant effort to acquire IPO shares may not be worth it in the end. You may also spend time and effort to obtain shares but only receive a small allocation, limiting upside gain. 

Though IPOs can provide one-day gains north of 20%, even up to 100% in rare cases (such as Airbnb and Doordash), the most significant gains will come during the decade following the IPO if the company is genuinely disruptive.

Take, for example, Netflix, Amazon, or Tesla. You could have bought the stock years after the IPO and still experienced gains of more than 1,000%

If you’re an investor that wants to buy Discord stock for the long term, consider opening a position after the IPO and averaging down if the stock falls. 

Short-term traders may angle to acquire IPO shares and hope for a short-term pop.

3. Buy Discord stock during the Discord IPO through a broker

Ambitious investors can position themselves to invest in the Discord IPO once it arrives.  

Your chances of getting IPO shares depend on four factors:

• IPO demand
• Your broker and eligibility
• Your assets under management (AUM) at the broker
• Propensity to flip shares

As IPO demand increases, the chances of receiving IPO shares decrease. Therefore, the IPOs that are most interesting to the masses are the hardest to access. 

Most online brokers do not offer IPO shares. Check directly to see if yours does, or look at our list of best brokers for IPO investing. 

Legacy brokers like Fidelity and Charles Schwab have minimum eligibility requirements and penalties for flipping shares (selling shortly after the IPO). 

But even if eligible, the brokers must sub-allocate whatever limited shares they receive from the IPO underwriters.

This process is non-transparent, but priority is likely given to the wealthiest investors first. 

For example, if your account balance is $500,000, and that makes you eligible according to terms, the broker may only have enough IPO shares to distribute to customers with assets of $3,000,000 or more. 

This brings us to ClickIPO. 

ClickIPO is a smartphone app that partners with TradeStation (through the app) to deliver IPO access to ordinary investors. 

There is no minimum account value required. 

ClickIPO prioritizes IPO share distribution to investors who are less likely to flip shares and thus considered more desirable IPO beneficiaries (in theory).

Therefore, ClickIPO offers a value proposition to underwriters and newly public companies.

Though quick profits from IPOs is one way the large underwriter reward whale-sized clients. 

Joining a broker that offers access to IPOs does not guarantee a share allocation, especially in high-demand IPOs. You are probably better off waiting for the company to start trading after the IPO. 

4. Directed Share Program

Another possibility is a directed share program.

Sometimes when companies file their S-1 SEC filing (to begin the IPO process), they include a directed share program for executives, affiliates, and other people who helped the company grow.

Since Discord’s success is due, in part, to its dedicated user base, it’s possible the company may offer IPO shares to them.

This has happened before.

Uber offered shares to drivers that completed a certain number of trips.

GoPro offered shares to its email list. 

Airbnb offered IPO shares to hosts. 

Robinhood offered shares to its customers. 

Community members are hoping for IPO access to the Reddit IPO via a directed share program. 

Considering Discord’s vast and growing customer base, pay attention to the S-1 filing for a directed share program.

Bookmark this page for more information as the IPO approaches. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is Discord Stock Publicly Traded?

No. Discord is still privately owned.

What is the Discord Stock Price?

Since Discord is not publicly traded on a stock exchange, there is no Discord stock price yet.

Private stock price information is becoming more available and reliable based on pre-IPO marketplace data and other sources. 

However, the stock price is only the value of one share. Like public companies, the underlying valuation metrics, revenue, profitability, and market sentiment toward private companies are more significant factors than the share price.

What is the Discord Stock Symbol?

Discord has not yet submitted public filings to the SEC. Therefore, the Discord stock symbol remains unknown. We can only speculate.

Here are some possibilities that appear to be available in the U.S.:

• DSCD
• DISC
• DSC
• DC
• DCRD
• CORD

Can you Invest in Discord Equity Today? 

Yes.

The stock does not trade publicly. But U.S.-based retail investors can own the company pre-IPO via the ARK Venture Fund.

Disclosure: The author owns Discord stock through the ARK Venture Fund. 

Where can I find the Discord S-1 Filing?

The Discord S-1 filing won’t be publicly available until released. Once it is public, we’ll post it here. 

You can find a real-time SEC feed of the latest IPO filings from other companies on the recent S-1 filings page.

Will There be a Discord SPAC Merger?

At this stage, a SPAC merger is possible.

But the recent slowdown of SPAC mergers plus the rapidly increasing Discord valuation suggests a traditional IPO is more likely. 

A SPAC is a special purpose acquisition company, also known as a blank check company. They are shell companies designed to help established businesses go public without a traditional IPO. 

The SPAC company merges with the established company and takes on the established company’s name. It’s also known as a reverse merger. 

Using a SPAC to go public allows the company to skip the complicated and expensive IPO process. 

Not all companies are ready to IPO, making SPACs an attractive alternative to an IPO where the company can still raise new funds.

However, the more established a company is, the more resources it can hire to facilitate the traditional IPO process. 

When early investors and employees need liquidity, and the company generates more significant revenue, the company will decide on the best way to go public — a traditional IPO, direct IPO, or SPAC merger. 

Best Brokers to Buy Discord Stock

What is the best online brokerage for buying Discord stock when it begins trading?

If you want to attempt to participate in select IPOs, TradeStation is the best low-minimum investment IPO broker for investors with assets under $100,000.

See the complete list of best brokers for IPO investing here. 

Joining a broker that offers access to IPOs does not guarantee a share allocation, especially in high-demand IPOs. You are probably better off waiting for the company to start trading after the IPO. 

Discord Stock IPO News Archive

09/07/2023: Discord’s Midjourney Deal Could Supercharge Revs
08/04/2023: Discord cuts 4% of staff 
04/10/2023: NYT: What Is Discord?
01/17/2023: Discord acquires Compliment App Gas
08/21/2022: Is Discord really worth 32% less today than it was last year?
05/17/2022: Discord Ranked #13 on CNBC’s Disruptor 50 List
03/14/2022: Bloomberg: Discord Interviews Banks for Direct Listing
09/15/2021: Confirmed: Chat App Discord Is Worth $15 Billion
09/04/2021: Danny Devito, Discord and the Future of Social Media
08/24/2021: Dragoneer Expected to Lead Discord Round at $15 Billion Value
06/28/2021: Discord acquires augmented reality startup Ubiquity6
04/21/2021: Messaging platform Discord reportedly ends sale talks with Microsoft
03/23/2021: Microsoft Corp. is in talks to acquire Discord for more than $10 billion
12/17/2020: Discord confirms raising $100M at a valuation of $7B

The author is long TSLA.