Peter Thiel-Backed Rumble Stock Shoots Up 40% on First Day as Public Company

The conservative video platform went public in a SPAC deal that values it at more than $2 billion

Peter Thiel rumble
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The stock for the conservative Peter Thiel-backed video platform Rumble shot up 40% on its first day as a public company.

Rumble Inc. went public Monday after a successful SPAC vote last week in which shareholders of Cantor Fitzgerald Acquisition Corp. VI, a special purpose acquisition company, voted in favor of the addition and valued the company at more than $2 billion.

Rumble opened its first day on the New York Stock Exchange at $12.04, climbing to $18.52 before settling to $16.81 at the bell. It was down more than 2% in after-hours trading.

Backed by billionaire Peter Thiel, the conservative platform, which is seen as an alternative to YouTube, attracted the likes of Infowars founder and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and several QAnon influencers who were booted from social media.

Rumble, which trades under the ticker handle “RUM,” says it has 78 million global monthly viewers and will launch exclusive shows from actor Russell Brand and journalist Glenn Greenwald, according to CNBC.

The company, which touts that it does “not stifle, censor, or punish creativity and freedom of expression,” is also associated with a similar alternative platform as it manages ad sales for Truth Social, the social media platform kickstarted by former President Donald Trump after he was banned from mainstream social media networks like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

“We create technologies that are immune to cancel culture. Because everyone benefits when we have access to more ideas, diverse opinions, and dialogue,” the website’s mission reads. “Join us. We are on a mission to protect a free and open internet.”

Recently, the platform touted on social media that it would carry a podcast with Andrew Tate, whose misogynistic and hateful comments got him barred from Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Twitter.

The platform has also certainly positioned themselves as YouTube’s competitor, saying “We are hearing that YouTube is testing 5 ads before a video starts. Unless creators specifically choose to do that on their own channel, Rumble will never do such a thing.”

“Rumble Ads will have far more creative ways to generate revenue for creators without harming the audience,” the tweet continued, noting that the company believe creators should have a say on how to monetize their channels.

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