Snapchat working on raising $500 million of funding at a $16 to $19 billion valuation

The most recent financing round valued Snapchat at $10 billion. That was in August, a mere 6 months ago. Now, wire service reports say that Snapchat is looking at raising $500 million at a whopping $16 to $19 billion valuation. According to the report, Snapchat brass is talking with fund managers who are looking to make the investment.
At a valuation of $19 billion, Snapchat would trail only Xiaomi and Uber among privately owned tech firms. Xiaomi, which is rumored to be talking with investment bankers about an IPO, has a valuation of $45 billion while Uber is said to be worth $41 billion. Uber too, is said to be considering going public.
source: Reuters