SAN FRANCISCO, (Reuters) - Social media platform Reddit has struck a deal with Google to make its content available for training the search engine giant's artificial intelligence models, three people familiar with the matter said.
The contract with Alphabet-owned Google is worth about $60 million per year, according to one of the sources.
The deal underscores how Reddit, which is preparing for a high-profile stock market launch, is seeking to generate new revenue amid fierce competition for advertising dollars from the likes of TikTok and Meta Platform's Facebook.
The sources were not authorized to speak to media and declined to be identified. Reddit and Google declined to comment. Bloomberg previously reported Reddit's content deal without naming the buyer.
Last year, Reddit said it would charge companies for access to its application programming interface (API) - the means by which it distributes its content. The agreement with Google is its first reported deal with a big AI company.
Reddit's stock market launch would mark the first IPO of a major social media company since Pinterest floated its shares in 2019.
Makers of AI models have been busy clinching deals with content owners in recent months, aiming to diversify their training data beyond large scrapes of the internet.
That practice is rife with potential copyright issues as many content creators have alleged that their content was used without permission.
Founded in 2005 by web developer Steve Huffman and entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian, Reddit is known for its manifold niche discussion groups, some of which boast tens of millions of members.