Pinterest wants to raise $500 million in its next round of funding, expected to close in the coming weeks, which could value the photo pin-up app at around $11 billion, although it is not yet known if new investors will join the round, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

The new valuation would be more than double the figure of $5 billion the company was assigned at its last fundraising round in May 2014.

Pinterest has not commented on the matter.

The firm has been branching out from being a social media website and app where users search for and bookmark images that interest them, to one where users can discover new things.

Last month, it added ‘app pins’ to its social sharing service, which will enable iOS device users to install an app without the need to leave Pinterest.

The company has recently reolocated to a bigger office and has grown to over 500 employees. It wants to capitalise on its growing user base and expand in Europe and Asia.

According to comScore, unique US visitors to Pinterest hit 75.8 million in January 2015, a 37 per cent increase from the same time last year.

It introduced ‘promoted pins’ into users’ home feeds earlier this year and believes it is attractive for advertisers, especially when compared to other popular social media apps like Facebook and Snapchat, because it helps them see what users intend to spend on in the future.