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Microsoft is alleged to be near investing in ShareChat at the same time as it’s in talks to amass ByteDance’s companies in India and different nations
ShareChat’s current traders are anticipated to hitch Microsoft within the spherical, which may see ShareChat turning into the newest startup in India’s unicorn membership.
Days after India’s ban on TikTok, ShareChat claimed to have seen a progress fee of 500,000 new customers per hour
Picture credit: ShareChat
At the same time as hypothesis is rife that Microsoft might purchase out ByteDance’s enterprise within the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and even India, the US tech big is now reportedly near investing $100 Mn in Indian social media platform ShareChat
In response to a Mint report, Microsoft would simply be one of many traders in ShareChat, and the $100 mn funding would solely be one-third of what the social media startup is trying to increase in its newest spherical. ShareChat’s current traders are anticipated to hitch Microsoft within the spherical, which may see ShareChat turning into the newest startup in India’s unicorn membership.
The corporate’s final funding spherical was in August final 12 months, when it raised $100 Mn in a Collection D spherical led by Twitter, with current traders Shunwei Capital, Lightspeed Enterprise Companions, SAIF Capital, India Quotient and Morningside Enterprise Capital additionally investing additional. That funding pegged the corporate’s valuation at $650 Mn.
Until date, the corporate has raised $222.eight Mn in eight funding rounds, in response to knowledge out there on Crunchbase. ShareChat was a part of Inc42’s UpNext sequence on soonicorn startups in 2019, and was anticipated to succeed in a $1 Bn valuation by 2021.
ShareChat didn’t reply to queries concerning the fund increase.
Microsoft Betting Large On Social Apps?
Curiously, ShareChat launched its brief video app Moj on June 29, the identical day because the ban on TikTok and 58 different Chinese language apps within the first wave of the ban.
ShareChat’s Moj has seen a large spike in customers since launch as customers gravitated to homegrown options. Since its launch on June 29, the app has garnered 22 Mn downloads, in response to knowledge on app analytics portal Sensor Tower. Whereas each ShareChat and Moj are positioned as ‘Made in India’ on the Google Play Retailer, ShareChat’s traders in earlier rounds embody Shunwei Capital, a Chinese language enterprise capital fund run by Xiaomi cofounder Lei Jun, in addition to Chinese language electronics big Xiaomi.
With Chinese language web big ByteDance coming beneath deep scrutiny within the US, the corporate is trying to promote its regional companies to Microsoft. ByteDance apps TikTok, Helo and CapCut had been among the many 100-plus Chinese language apps banned by India over the previous two months.
With its India enterprise crippled, ByteDance is purported to be in talks with Microsoft to promote the India unit to the tech big together with different regional companies. Studies this week recommend ByteDance may promote TikTok India both to overseas traders or Indian consumers. ByteDance would then license its know-how to the corporate and share income.”
ShareChat Progress In Lockdown
Based by IIT-Kanpur alumni, Farid Ahsan, Bhanu Singh and Ankush Sachdeva, in 2015, ShareChat is a regional language-focussed social media platform, which banks closely on user-generated content material. It boasts options like nameless chat, direct messaging, authentic video content material beneath the banner of ShareChat Talkies. It was additionally part of the 2018 version of probably the most coveted listing of India’s most modern startups — 42Subsequent by Inc42.
Days after the ban on TikTok in July, ShareChat claimed to have seen a progress fee of 500,000 new customers per hour, with Indian customers scurrying to TikTok options within the brief video sharing area. Accessible in 14 regional languages, ShareChat’s core base is in Tier 2 and Tier three cities. The app presently has greater than 100 Mn downloads on the Google Play Retailer, and is ranked fourth on the ‘top free’ apps chart on the Play Retailer. The identical rating options sister app Moj within the third spot.
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