"Building the Internet of Value”

Discord is a leading real-time communication platform primarily designed for voice, video, and text interactions. Originally rooted in the gaming community, it has evolved into a multifunctional social venue used by diverse online communities, including educational groups, creators, and brands. In 2025, Discord stands as a key player at the intersection of digital community building, social interaction, and brand engagement, capitalizing on growing trends in decentralized online subcultures and generative AI integration.

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Business Model

The company operates under a freemium business model that offers most of its communication features for free, including text chat, voice calls, video streaming, and custom emojis. Revenue is primarily generated through premium subscriptions like Discord Nitro that enhance user experience with benefits such as higher quality streaming and exclusive content. Additional income streams include game distribution and select advertising partnerships. Discord’s approach focuses on building strong user loyalty by providing optional upgrades rather than restricting core functionality, thereby maintaining an open and engaging platform.

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Scale and Growth

Discord’s scale is substantial and expanding rapidly, with over 230 million monthly active users globally as of early 2025, representing a 30% growth since 2023. The platform supports more than 30 million servers, accommodating vast and varied communities. Its growth is driven by increasing adoption among Gen Z users who make up a significant portion of the audience, as well as emerging use cases in brand marketing and developer ecosystems. Financially, Discord achieved approximately $725 million in annual recurring revenue by the end of 2024, reflecting strong momentum bolstered by partnerships and the growing appeal of its versatile communication infrastructure. This combination of broad reach and innovative ecosystem development continues to fuel Discord’s rise as a vital hub of online interaction.

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Competitive Edge

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Discord’s competitive landscape is defined by its all-in-one platform strategy, contrasting with point solutions like Teamspeak (voice specialization) and Element (security focus). While Microsoft Teams and Slack dominate workplace collaboration, Discord uniquely integrates gaming, streaming, and community-building tools, creating a defensible niche. Guilded and Telegram offer partial overlaps but lack Discord’s ecosystem depth. Investors should note Discord’s hybrid model—combining social engagement with developer-friendly APIs—as a differentiated bet against fragmented or enterprise-centric rivals.

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Targeted Impact

Discord empowers authentic connections by fostering safe, inclusive communities and enabling creators to build sustainable businesses.

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What Comes Next?

Discord will continue to expand its developer platform and refine revenue strategies as it prepares for a potential public offering.

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Who will benefit?

Gamers, educators, content creators, developers, game studios, and online communities benefit from Discord's communication platform.

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Discord's Timeline

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Bull and Bear Case

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Market Opportunity & Expansion

• Used by over 200 million people every month, a 30% increase from 2023, Discord has evolved from a gaming-centric platform into a universal space for real-time connection and digital communities
• Discord launched its first mobile ad format, Video Quests, in June 2025 - expanding its ad business into mobile and beyond gaming by offering brand partners access to its highly engaged, cross-platform community

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Market Risks & Competitive Threats

• Intense competition from large tech firms (Meta, Microsoft Teams, Google) expanding real-time communication
• Potential erosion of Discord’s niche youthful user base as social media habits shift and decentralized platforms gain traction

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Competitive Advantages & Defensibility‍

• Strong brand affinity among Gen Z gamers, with 44% of U.S. teens who identify as gamers using Discord.
• Discord’s architecture enables autonomous and highly customizable community spaces that encourage repeated interactions and strong user retention - strengthening its structural moat

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Operational challenges and execution risks:

• October 2025 data breach via third-party affecting user trust and security perception
• Ongoing moderation and content safety challenges in large, diverse communities with regulatory scrutiny risk

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Financial Performance & Unit Economics

• $725 million annual recurring revenue at end-2024, 21% YoY growth from $600 million in 2023
• Revenue diversified across Nitro subscriptions, server boosts, and emerging advertising products, with Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) approx. $3.47 globally

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Financial Sustainability Concerns

• Slowing growth after COVID peak; modest ARPU compared to competitors may suppress margin expansion
• Heavy reliance on engagement-driven premium subscriptions and ads makes revenue susceptible to behavioral or macro shifts

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Strategic Positioning & Optionality

• Expanding from gaming to brand marketing, education, and developer social infrastructure
• Growing monetization optionality with advertising alongside premium subscriptions, offering multiple future growth and exit paths

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Regulatory or structural headwinds:

• Heightened global regulatory focus on online content, data privacy, child safety - significant given the teen user base
• New rules could increase compliance costs or inhibit monetization features

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Prominent News

Discord Data Breach: 5CA Named as Vendor Behind Leak of 70,000 IDs — But Denies Wrongdoing, October 17, 2025 - Discord disclosed that over 70,000 users’ government-ID photos may have been exposed after an unauthorized party accessed data via third-party vendor 5CA. While Discord says the breach originated through 5CA’s customer-service systems, the vendor denies any wrongdoing. Click here to read more

Congress to question Discord, Reddit, Twitch, and Valve over role in Kirk shooting, September 17, 2025 - A U.S. House committee called the CEOs of Discord, Twitch, and Reddit to testify about how their platforms may contribute to online radicalization after several recent cases of politically motivated violence. Click here to read more.

Discord Opens its Social SDK Communication Features, Powering New Era of Social Play, August 13, 2025- Discord has released its new Social SDK for developers, allowing game creators to integrate Discord’s voice, chat and linked-channel features directly into their titles. Click here to read more.

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Revenue

The graph below displays the revenue and revenue growth of Discord from 2019 to 2024.

• Revenue was up 20.83% in 2024 from $600.00 million in 2023

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Return on Investment (ROI)

The graph below displays Discord's ROI over the past 180, 90, and 30 days, computed as of October 20, 2025.

• 180D: ↑ +13.25% since April 24, 2025‍
• 90D: ↑ +5.68% since July 23, 2025‍
• 30D: ↑ +0.02% since September 21, 2025

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Funding Round in USD

• Primary Funding Round: Discord raised $500 million in Series I on September 9, 2021, at a $15 billion valuation and a share price of $550.62
• Investors:  Series I saw participation from Baillie Gifford, Coatue, Dragoneer Investment Group, Fidelity and Franklin Templeton‍
• Current Implied Valuation: $7.20 billion on October 20, 2025, according to PM Insights‍
• Change Since Last Primary Round: Down 52% from its Series I valuation

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Primary Round Valuation

<span class="date">2021-09-09</span>
<span class="value">$15B</span>

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Implied Valuation

<span class="date">2025-10-20</span>
<span class="value">$7.20B</span>

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Change Since Last Round

<span class="date">2021-09-09 → 2025-10-20</span>
<span class="value red">-52%<span>

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Quarterly Bid:Ask Volume Ratio

PM Insights highlights the quarterly bid:ask volume ratio of Discord where there were at least three institutionally-sized broker contributions within that period. The stacked bar chart below shows the total quarterly bid and ask volumes alongside their relative ratios.

• Highest volume: $622.61 million in Q2 2022‍
• Lowest volume: $81.90 million in‍ Q2 2025‍
• Largest bid-side activity: 94% of $179.00 million in Q1 2021
• Largest ask-side activity: 94% of $269.57 million in Q2 2023

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Volatility of Composite Price

The volatility of the composite price is calculated based on price movements within a 90-day rolling window ending on each respective date. The graph below illustrates the trend in volatility of composite price for Discord for a one year period from October 21, 2025 until October 20, 2025.

• Volatility began at 11.90% in October 2024
• It rose gradually, reaching its peak in December 2024
• Through 2025, it fluctuated modestly, showing alternating periods of increase and decline
• Volatility reached its minimum at 4.63% before settling at 4.66% on October 20, 2025

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