India’s renowned social media corporation, ShareChat has closed multi-tranche funding round, raising $520 million and reaching a valuation of $5 billion.
ShareChat raised $266 million in the first round from Alkeon Capital, Temasek, HarbourVest, Moore Strategic Ventures, and India Quotient in December 2021. Following the acquisition of MX TakaTak, ShareChat added Google and Times Group as new investors, while Temasek participated once more, contributing $255 million.
Ankush Sachdeva, CEO & Co-founder, ShareChat, said, “We are excited to announce the closing of our funding round and adding Google and The Times Group to our cap table. We are also happy and grateful to see Temasek reaffirming its faith in us for the third time in a year. Despite strong headwinds, it is reassuring to see investor confidence in ShareChat’s efforts and potential to grow further.”
ShareChat has inked deals with Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), Rupay Prime Volleyball League (PVL) and Tata Open Maharashtra.
Moreover, ShareChat even collaborated with Cricbuzz for promoting sports content on its platform.
Recently, the largest Indian social media platform has also launched the second season of the most awaited cricket chatroom series ‘CricChat‘.
ShareChat, which accomplished unicorn status last year, has raised $913 million in 2021, the highest amount of funding received by any company that became a unicorn during the year.
“Over a year ago, we turned unicorn, and since then, we have been scaling and innovating at an exhilarating pace, further refining our offerings and expanding our operations. The coming year will be about capitalizing on the scale and building robust revenue models. We are committed to empowering every Indian by providing platforms to share experiences, discover new opportunities, showcase their talents and make their passion a means to a livelihood,” Sachdeva added.
The parent company of ShareChat, Mohalla Tech also operates the largest short video platforms in the country, Moj and TakaTak along with the ShareChat app, which has 400 million users. ShareChat has increased its revenue by focusing on methods to quickly monetise its multiple platforms over the last year.
Further than advertising, the company has created diverse monetization avenues such as virtual gifting and video commerce. Virtual gifting is gaining traction on the ShareChat app, with the company already at a $50 million ARR and expected to more than double before the year ends.