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Homegrown social media company ShareChat on Thursday said it has closed a $520 million multi-tranche funding round, taking its valuation to $5 billion.
In the funding round, ShareChat raised $255 million from Google, Times Group, and existing investors, adding to the $266 million it raised earlier in December 2021 from Alkeon Capital, Temasek, HarbourVest, Moore Strategic Ventures, and India Quotient. Since 2021, ShareChat has cumulatively raised $1.2 billion and acquired MX TakaTak. ShareChat, which achieved unicorn status last year, has collectively raised $913 million in 2021, the highest funding among all companies that became unicorns during the year. ShareChat (Mohalla Tech) runs India's largest short video platforms, Moj and TakaTak, besides the ShareChat app, which together cater to over 400 million users. "Despite strong headwinds, it is reassuring to see investor confidence in ShareChat's efforts and potential to grow further. 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," said Ankush Sachdeva, CEO and Co-founder, ShareChat and Moj. The coming year will be about capitalising on the scale and building robust revenue models, he added. The ShareChat app, over the years, has grown to be India's largest content ecosystem. In 2020, it launched 'Audio Chatrooms' as a feature. Today, it has become one of India's largest voice-based live hangouts, with 2 billion minutes of audio streamed every month. Since its launch in July 2020, Moj has grown to become India's favourite short video app with over 3X daily active users and 2X daily time spent per user compared to its nearest domestic competitor. Recently, ShareChat announced a strategic merger with MXTakaTak, bolstering its short video ecosystem to 300 million MAUs and 100 million creators. --IANS na/vd ( 309 Words) 2022-06-16-20:56:02 (IANS)
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