One of the world's most popular 'new media' websites has announced it will seek an IPO.

Buzzfeed CEO Jonah Peretti, speaking yesterday at ReCode Conference in California, did not put a timeline on the offering, but said it was a necessary step forward for the company:

"We’re very focused on building out internationally; we’re very focused on building out across multiple different platforms; we’re very focused on building out our video business," he said. 

Since Buzzfeed was founded in 2006, it has built a reputation around sharable content - primarily lists and videos. In recent years it has branched out into serious news reportage and more in-house video production. Such is its success, satirical magazine The Onion even launched a popular parody site, Clickhole.

The company recently became embroiled in a debate about editorial influence when the New York Times revealed a number of articles had been pulled from the site after complaints by sponsors.

The company's latest round of funding was in August, where it received an $850m valuation and $50m from investor Andreesen Horowitz.

At the same conference, Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel also announced an IPO. The picture-sharing app is currently valued at $15bn.