Telegram founder Pavel Durov stated that the corporate expects to hit profitability subsequent 12 months with eyes on going public sooner or later.
The chat app, which crossed 900 million customers, is making “lots of of tens of millions of {dollars}” by way of adverts and subscriptions, Durov informed the Financial Times in an interview. Whereas international buyers have provided the corporate cash at a greater than $30 billion valuation, he talked about that Telegram goals to go public sooner or later.
“The primary motive why we began to monetize is as a result of we needed to stay impartial. Usually talking, we see worth in [an IPO] as a way to democratize entry to Telegram’s worth,” he informed FT.
Whereas Telegram just isn’t trying to increase a mega-round, the corporate is open to funding in trade for smaller fairness.
Telegram launched a premium subscription two years ago. Inside months, it crossed the mark of one million paid users. The corporate additionally gives advert options for one-to-many channels and plans to launch ad revenue sharing with channel owners this month. Durov informed FT that advert options are at the moment restricted to sure geographies. The corporate additionally mandates companies to spend between €1 million and €10 million. Telegram is trying to broaden advert choices globally this 12 months and likewise make room for small-ticket spenders.
Earlier this month, the corporate introduced that personal users can convert their accounts to business accounts by paying a subscription payment.
Other than these options, Telegram has additionally experimented with blockchain-based tasks by way of the TON basis. In December 2022, the corporate auctioned premium usernames using TON Blockchain to let folks use the app with none SIM. In September 2023, Telegram added a self-custodial crypto wallet globally except in the U.S.
Durov has stated previously that Telegram desires to launch AI-powered chatbots for customer support for enterprise customers. The corporate additionally plans to spend money on AI to unravel moderation points that always plague the platform.
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