Music streaming service Spotify has been valued at approximately $1bn (£616m), as it gets ready for a full launch in the US.
A report from MediaGuardian points out that this is despite the fact that the Swedish company has yet to make a profit, having recorded a loss of £16.6m in 2009.
The website and streaming service is said to be seeking $100m in funding from Facebook investor Digital Sky Technologies (DST) and Silicon Valley firm Kleiner Perkins, which also owns a stake in Twitter.
Following its strong placement in Europe, where 10 million people now use its advertising-funded service for free, the company plans to use the extra funding to support its long-delayed US launch, which has been held up in part due to a lack of cooperation from the major labels.
So far EMI and Sony have finalised agreements with Spotify for its US expansion plans but Universal and Warner have still not signed up.
It might sound like a lot, but Spotify’s $1bn valuation is dwarfed by Facebook’s recent $50bn estimate, and suggestions that Twitter could now be worth $10bn.