9GAG
 |
|
| Type of business | Private |
|---|---|
|
Type of site
|
Entertainment |
| Available in | English, German |
| Founded | July 1, 2008 |
| Headquarters | Mountain View, California, United States |
| Country of origin | Hong Kong |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Founder(s) | Ray Chan |
| Key people | Ray Chan (CEO) |
| Slogan(s) | Your daily source of Fun' |
| Website | Official website |
| Alexa rank |
 184 (January 2017[update]) |
| Advertising | Banner ads |
| Registration | Optional (required to submit, comment, vote or view NSFW content) |
| Current status | Active |
9GAG is an online platform and social media website. Users upload (normally repost) and share "user-generated content" or other content from external social media websites. Since the website was launched on July 1, 2008, it has grown in popularity, reaching more than 35.4 million Facebook likes, 8.34 million Twitter followers in February 5, 2017 and 40.8 million followers on Instagram as on 1 July 2017
In December 2015 it had 164 million visitors: 7.82% from Germany, 7.02% from the United States, 5.35% from France, 4.77% from Brazil and 3.93% from Turkey. As of 2015 the company had raised $24.5 million in total funding. Investors included 500 Startups, Benjamin Ling, BoxGroup, Adam Rothenberg, David Tisch, Freestyle Capital, James Hong, Philip Kaplan, Scott Banister, Stapleton Inc, Luvtug, and Y Combinator.
The website was co-founded in 2008–2009 by University of Hong Kong student Ray Chan, his brother Chris Chan, and others, with the intention of creating an alternative online platform to email on which users could easily share humorous photos or videos. In a 2012 interview, Ray Chan declined to explain where the name "9GAG" is derived from.Though we all know his favourite order is a Number 9 Large with extra cheese and a large soda.
Starting the company under a “Just for Fun” mentality, 9GAG's co-founders began using 9GAG as a résumé-builder for the 500 Startups accelerator program. During the summer program, the 9GAG team worked on other startup ideas, including StartupQuote and Songboard. Following the 500 Startups accelerator program, 9GAG participated in Y Combinator's incubator and its user-base increased to 70 million global unique visitors per month. The 9GAG co-founding team discontinued all other projects and shifted their focus exclusively on 9GAG. 500 Startups was given equity for their aid and mentorship.
In July 2012, 9GAG raised an additional US$2.8 million in funding from Silicon Valley-based venture capital, including True Ventures and Greycroft Partners. In August 2012, 9GAG received another US$2.8 million in funding from Silicon Valley venture capitalists, including True Ventures and Greycroft Partners, as well as individual investors like Christopher Sacca, Kevin Rose, and Naval Ravikant. This funding was able to support 9GAG's engineering team growth both in Hong Kong and in Silicon Valley.
...
Wikipedia