Here’s how Reddit users can participate in the company’s IPO

Reddit plans to give certain users the chance to become shareholders when it makes its initial public offering this year.

Reddit plans to take the unusual step of giving certain users the chance to become shareholders when it makes its initial public offering this year. The social media company announced the plan in its IPO filing last week and is now sharing more details about how users can become one of its, in Reddit’s own words, “(non-corporate) overlords.” Reddit has begun sending emails to select users informing them of the opportunity to participate and has also published a “frequently asked questions” page for curious Redditors. The opportunity to buy shares in an IPO is typically reserved mainly for institutional investors, so Reddit will be able to invite only a select number of users to participate in what’s called a “direct share program.” Starting last week, Reddit said it began sending invitations to users to participate in the IPO based on one of two measurements of engagement on the site: either the number of actions they’ve taken as a moderator of a forum on the platform (also known as a “subreddit”) or their “karma” score, a figure that indicates a user’s contributions and reputation among other users on the site. Redditors who don’t receive one of those invitation emails will be able to pre-register to buy shares in the IPO between March 1 and March 5. If capacity in the program is filled before March 5, Reddit will open a waitlist for the program. The IPO direct share program will be open to adult US Reddit users with accounts created on or before January 1, 2024, who are not current or former Reddit employees.