Ever since Ben Silbermann and Evan Sharp launched Pinterest in 2010, more than 175 active users around the world, as well as 1 million businesses, have been “pinning” content to virtual bulletin boards ranging from dessert recipes to engagement rings.
The company gathers its revenue mainly in the form of ad sales across its desktop and mobile platforms — roughly $300 million dollars last year, nearly tripling 2015’s total — and has raised more than $1.3 billion from investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, SV Angel and Bessemer Venture Partners, bringing the company’s valuation to $11 billion, according to PitchBook.
Recode recently reported that Pinterest won’t IPO “soon” but that hiring its first CFO, Todd Morgenfeld, from Twitter back in October, and Facebook’s former monetization director, Tim Kendall, who is overseeing revenue efforts, suggest it is at least planning for a deal.
Silbermann has given no indication in public comments that a deal is coming soon, and Pinterest told Recode: “We don’t have any current plans for an IPO right now, because we’re focused on growing the business.”
Ben Silbermann, Pinterest co-founder and CEO
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