Google, Snap to invest in Indian start-up ShareChat

Indian social media startup ShareChat to get investments from American tech giants Google and Snap. The Bangalore-based social networking app added Twitter as an investor in 2019.

According to a TechCrunch report, ShareChat will host a Series E financing round seeking over $200 million from Google, Snapchat, as well as its existing investors. Google alone will invest over $100 million in the Indian social media app. 

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Post the Series E round, ShareChat’s valuation will be more than $1 billion. The company has, so far, raised more than $264 million at a valuation of $700 million. The report further states that the terms of the deal could change and the terms may not even materialise in an investment.

Google has been investing heavily in India and plans to invest a total of $10 billion. Whereas, it will be Snap’s first investment in an Indian startup if the deal is signed.

ShareChat has seen a significant rise in its active user base and has more than 80 million monthly active users after the government banned several Chinese apps in India last year. The app’s active monthly users crossed the 160 million mark and it serves 15 Indian language markets. It also owns a short-video app called Moj, which is an Indian alternative to the banned TikTok.