Reddit Goes Mainstream in $9.5B IPO, But Faces Pressure to Balance Community Values and Shareholder Profits

Reddit went public with an IPO, seeing its share price surge 48% on the first day of trading to reach a $9.5B market cap
Reddit has evolved from a fringe platform to now enforcing stricter policies to attract advertisers and become more mainstream
CEO Steve Huffman sold 500K shares in the IPO for $17M personal profit after taking home $193M in compensation last year
Reddit faces pressure to balance serving its vocal user base while also answering to new shareholders post-IPO
There are concerns Reddit may lose its community-based character that makes it unique as it commercializes to drive profits