Clubhouse is in talks to raise funding with a $4 billion valuation

Clubhouse, the audio-only app, into social networking has launched in March 2020 by Stanford University alumni Paul Davison and Rohan Seth, was valued at around $1 billion in January.

Clubhouse is a social networking app based on audio-chat. Users can listen in to conversations, interviews and discussions between interesting people on various topics – it is just like tuning in to a podcast but live and with an added layer of exclusivity. In May 2020, it had just 1,500 users, and was worth $100m.

Clubhouse is invite only. You can’t just download it off the app store and create an account. Much like a real-life country or yacht club, you have to be invited to join by an existing member. Real world elitism, but make it virtual.

When you join, you select topics of interest, like tech, books, business or health. The more information you give the app about your interests, the more conversation rooms and individuals the app will recommend you follow or join. Now is in talks to raise funding from investors in a round that would value the startup at about $4 billion, Bloomberg reported.

The invite-only app has boomed in popularity over the last few months. The company said in late February that it had more than 10 million active users each week, and celebrities including Paris Hilton, Oprah Winfrey, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and entrepreneur Mark Cuban have all used the app.

Reuters reports that demand for membership is now so hot that a market for them has grown on platforms like Reddit, eBay, and Craigslist.

Sources said, clubhouse users can’t just send an invite to anyone who wants to join, however. Existing users only have two invites available at first. In a recent blog post, the creators have announced that their 2021 goal is to complete the app’s beta stage, so they can eventually “open up Clubhouse to the whole world”.