Erik Martin, reddit general manager, told LAUNCH the Condé Nast decision to free Reddit had nothing to do with the company's controversy stemming from Reddit subeddits like jailbait, dead babies or its decision to run free ads for California Proposition 18 for marijuana legalization last fall.

Since Condé Nast acquired Reddit in 2006 for what is believed to be $12.8M, the decision to purchase the news-sharing site was viewed as out of character for the Condé Nast brand which includes such publications as Vogue and The New Yorker.

Erik noted that the the decision to make reddit its own company had been in the works for a while, but he did not know when the initial conversations had begun.

Erik told LAUNCH via email that at this point there were no plans to raise money and declined to share private company information regarding reddit's profitability.