Snap files for IPO, seeks to raise $3 billion

Snap Inc., owner of the popular disappearing-messages service Snapchat, seeks to raise up to $3 billion in an initial public offering.

That number may change based on investor demand.

The highly anticipated IPO is expected to be the one of the largest since Alibaba Group went public in 2014. But Snap is better known than the e-commerce company, drawing comparisons instead to the IPOs of Facebook and Twitter.

According to IPO documents filed on Thursday, Snap has lost nearly $1 billion in the past two years.

Los Angeles-based Snap had revenue of $404.5 million in 2016, up from $58.7 million in 2015. Its net loss was $514.6 million last year, and $372.9 million the year before.

The company says 158 million people use Snapchat daily.