Microsoft is in talks to buy Discord, a US-based chat start-up, for over USD 10 billion, Bloomberg reported, citing sources close the matter. VentureBeat earlier wrote that Discord was exploring its sale, in a deal worth “much more” than USD 10 billion. Bloomberg said Discord had been in discussion with a number of potential buyers and that while Microsoft was in the running, no deal was imminent. One source said Discord was more likely to go public than sell itself.
Discord reached out to Microsoft to gauge interest, and Xbox chief Phil Spencer has been talking to the company, according to one source. Discord has also held discussions in the past with Epic Games and Amazon, other sources said. Microsoft and Discord declined to comment on the report. Neither did Epic Games or Amazon.
Based in San Francisco, Discord provides a free service that lets gamers communicate by video, voice and text. During the covid-19 lockdowns, the service has increasingly been used for study groups, dance classes, book clubs and other virtual gatherings. It has more than 100 million monthly active users and has been working on becoming a “place to talk” rather than just a gamer-centric chat platform. The company raised USD 100 million at a USD 7 billion valuation last year
