ShareChat Valuation: India's Social Media Platform Reaches $2.88 Billion

ShareChat Secures Additional Funding, Valuation Nears $3 Billion

The Indian social media platform, ShareChat, announced on Tuesday the completion of a further $145 million in funding. This latest investment brings the company’s valuation to approximately $3 billion.

Investment Details and Round Closure

This funding round was spearheaded by Temasek and Moore Strategic Ventures, with participation from the Mirae-Naver Asia Growth fund. The Bangalore-based startup confirmed the closure of its Series F financing round, having now raised over $911 million in total.

Prior to this announcement, reports from TechCrunch indicated ShareChat was in discussions to secure funding at a valuation around $2.8 billion. This new tranche validates the company’s position in the market.

Leadership Perspective

“This additional Series F investment serves as confirmation of our leading market position and demonstrates the confidence investors have in our ability to execute,” stated Ankush Sachdeva, co-founder and CEO of both Moj and ShareChat.

Sachdeva further expressed gratitude for attracting a group of high-caliber investors, including Temasek, MSV, and Mirae-Naver.

Moj's Rapid Growth and Future Potential

In a recent interview, Sachdeva highlighted the rapid expansion of Moj, the short video app launched following the ban of TikTok in India due to cybersecurity concerns. He anticipates Moj will eventually surpass ShareChat in size and influence.

Reaching Underserved Markets

ShareChat boasts a user base exceeding 160 million, offering its social network application in 15 different Indian languages. The platform has a particularly strong presence in smaller Indian cities and towns, often referred to as “India 2” by venture capitalist Sajith Pai of Blume Ventures.

The company’s reach extends to a demographic segment that few Indian startups effectively serve, a segment that has expanded with increased internet access in even the smallest villages – known as “India 3.”

Competitive Landscape

Moj competes with several other short video platforms, including MX TakaTak (Times Internet), Roposo (Glance), and Josh (DailyHunt). Both Roposo and Josh received funding from Google in late 2021.

Reports also surfaced last year indicating that Twitter explored acquiring a majority stake in ShareChat and expanding the Moj app internationally.

Investment in AI and Creator Ecosystem

“With a monthly active user base of 160 million and a creator community exceeding 50 million, Moj has rapidly become the leading short-video app in India,” Sachdeva explained. “We will continue to invest in our AI capabilities, scale our global AI organization, and develop advanced editing tools to empower our creators and facilitate monetization.”

Currently, Moj generates 4.5 billion daily views, with users spending an average of 34 minutes on the app each day.

MSV's Perspective on the Partnership

James McIntyre, Senior Managing Director and COO at MSV, stated, “We are excited to partner with Moj as they develop India’s premier short-form video platform. We have been impressed by the management team’s speed and adaptability in capitalizing on this opportunity.

This investment will accelerate growth and enable Moj and ShareChat to continue building a robust ecosystem for both content creators and consumers.”