Photo-sharing app Snapchat is looking for new funding that would value the company at $19bn.

Bloomberg Business has reported that the company wants to raise up to $500m, which would make it the third-most valuable venture-backed company in the world.

Founded by Stanford University student Evan Spiegel, Snapchat allows users to send disappearing photos and videos from their smartphones, and is popular among teenagers.

If the LA-based company is successful in reaching its goal, it would be ranked behind taxi-app Uber, valued at $40bn, and Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp, valued at $45bn.

In 2013, Spiegel turned down a $3bn acquisition offer from Facebook’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook then went on to acquire popular messaging app WhatsApp instead for $19bn.

As of May last year, Snapchat users were sending 700 million photos and videos per day, while Snapchat Stories were being viewed 500 million times per day.