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Business News/ News / India/  Google backs ShareChat in $300 million funding at $5 billion valuation: Report
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Google backs ShareChat in $300 million funding at $5 billion valuation: Report

Google has backed India's ShareChat in a $300 million funding round at a $5 billion valuation.

Google backs India's ShareChat in $300 million funding round at $5 bln valuation REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo (REUTERS)Premium
Google backs India's ShareChat in $300 million funding round at $5 bln valuation REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo (REUTERS)

The parent company of India's ShareChat has raised almost $300 million in new capital from Alphabet Inc's Google, media behemoth Times Group, and Singapore's Temasek Holdings, valuing the social media platform at nearly $5 billion. Two persons familiar with the sale discussions told Reuters that a deal might be revealed as soon as next week. Mohalla Tech, ShareChat's parent business, did not respond to a request for comment. Requests for comment from Google and Temasek were not immediately returned, and Reuters was unable to contact the Times Group.

According to one of the individuals, Google's investment in a bearish market for Indian start-ups demonstrates the desire for the short video industry as well as the start-investment up's thesis. India's digital firms have been struggling to raise funding, after raising a record $35 billion in new funds in 2021, as corporate governance worries loom large for investors facing increased market volatility.

After backing Josh, which competes with ShareChat's sister company Moj, this is Google's second major investment in India's short video industry.

Short video apps like Moj and Josh shot up in popularity after India in 2020 banned ByteDance's TikTok and some other Chinese apps following a border clash with China.

ShareChat currently has 180 million monthly active users. Moj, along with Mohalla's recently acquired MX TakaTak, has a combined user base of 300 million, according to one of the sources.

ShareChat was last valued at $3.7 billion in a $266 million funding round from investors including Alkeon Capital and Temasek. The firm also counts Twitter and Snap among its investors.

If the bid by Tesla CEO Elon Musk to buy Twitter goes through, Musk will have potentially a stake of between 6% and 8% in ShareChat, the source added. 

(With inputs from Reuters)

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Published: 30 May 2022, 02:40 PM IST
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