Instagram Is Worth $35 Billion, Says Citigroup
Facebook must be feeling pretty good right about now.
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Instagram made headlines earlier this month when it was announced that the photo-based social network had surpassed Twitter in popularity, reaching 300 million active users, compared to Twitter's 284 million.
Now the Facebook subsidiary is attracting even more investors with a brand spanking new valuation of $35 billion. Citigroup had previously valued Instagram at $19 billion—still far above the $1 billion Facebook threw down when it purchased the company back in 2012.
The new estimate reflects Instagram's meteoric rise as one of the leading social networks on the internet, particularly as Facebook and Twitter usage has begun to stagnate in key demographics. As the premier photo-centric social network, Instagram is also a beneficiary of the proliferation of high-quality smartphone cameras and the popularity of selfies among millennials.
Despite its financial promise, Instagram is no stranger to controversy. This week, as part of an effort to rid the site of spam, the company nixed millions of fake accounts. The mass deletion resulted in many high-profile accounts losing millions of followers.
Via: The Verge