Snapchat, Twitter-Backed Indian Social Media Unicorn Raises Another $145M

Snapchat, Twitter-Backed Indian Social Media Unicorn Raises Another $145M

Indian social media startup ShareChat has raised $145 million in its latest funding round, it said in a statement late Monday, as reported by Reuters.

What Happened: The funding round was led by Singapore-government-owned Temasek Holdings and Moore Strategic Ventures and values ShareChat at $2.88 billion.

The startup told Reuters that the latest funding will help it “double down (on) its strategic priorities.”

ShareChat had earlier raised $502 million in a funding round that saw participation from Snapchat parent Snap Inc. (SNAP) and Twitter Inc. (TWTR).

Benzinga’s Take: ShareChat is looking to find its niche in the crowded Indian social media landscape by facilitating content exchange in about 15 local languages.

India is a linguistically diverse country, with the constitution recognizing 22 languages but much of the existing social media is focused around English or Hindi.

The unique selling point for Indian startups is also the current regulatory environment. With ByteDance-owned TikTok banned in India and the country’s federal government clashing with Twitter and Facebook Inc. (FB) over regulatory compliance, local companies present lucrative investment opportunities for behemoths including global social media giants themselves.

Price Action: Snap shares closed 1.66% lower at $76.32 on Monday and Twitter shares closed 4.1% lower at $68.69.

© 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

How did you like this article? Let us know so we can better customize your reading experience.

Comments

Leave a comment to automatically be entered into our contest to win a free Echo Show.