ShareChat gets funding from Google, Times Group

BENGALURU: Mohalla Tech, the parent entity of ShareChat that runs the short video platform Moj, has raised $255 million (almost Rs 2,000 crore) in funding from Google, the Times Group (which publishes this newspaper) and other existing investors.

The social media platform had raised $266 million in December as part of the same funding round, taking the total to $520 million. The round values the company at $5 billion. ShareChat, which turned a unicorn (valued at $1 billion or more) last year, had raised $913 million in 2021.

The venture has over 400 million monthly active users across all its platforms. Founded in 2015 by Ankush Sachdeva, Bhanu Pratap Singh and Farid Ahsan, ShareChat has social media brands such as ShareChat App, Moj, and TakaTak. ShareChat is an Indian language social networking service, Moj is a video sharing service, and TakaTak is a short video-making app. Sachdeva, who is CEO, said, “We are excited to announce the closing of our funding round and adding Google and The Times Group to our cap table. Despite strong headwinds, it is reassuring to see investor confidence in ShareChat’s efforts and potential to grow further. The coming year will be about capitalising on the scale and building robust revenue models. ”

Mohalla has built diversified monetisation avenues beyond advertising, in areas like virtual gifting and video commerce. Virtual gifting, the company said, is witnessing incredible adoption on the ShareChat app.