Reddit and Google agree upon an AI content licensing agreement

According to three people with knowledge of the situation, social media site Reddit and Google have reached an agreement for Reddit's content to be used as training data for Google's AI models.

One of the sources claims that the annual contract value with Alphabet-owned Google is approximately $60 million.

The agreement demonstrates Reddit's efforts to bring in fresh cash in the face of intense rivalry for advertising dollars from platforms such as Facebook and TikTok. Reddit is gearing up for a big stock market debut.

Reddit said last year that it would start charging businesses for access to its application programming interface (API), which is how it distributes its content. Its first known arrangement with a significant AI business is the one with Google.

The San Francisco-based Reddit is getting ready to file for an initial public offering this week, which will give prospective investors access to the company's financial information for the first time. Reddit has been considering a stock float for more than three years.

Two of the sources stated that the filing might be accessible as early as Thursday.

As previously reported, the company is looking to sell roughly 10% of its shares in the offering. The company was valued at roughly $10 billion in a funding round in 2021.

Since Pinterest listed its stock on the market in 2019, Reddit's IPO would be the first of a significant social media company.

In an effort to broaden their training material beyond extensive internet scrapes, artificial intelligence model creators have been busy closing deals with content owners in recent months. Due to the numerous claims made by content creators that their work was taken without authorization, this practice is fraught with possible copyright violations.