Telegram founder Pavel Durov mentioned that the corporate expects to hit profitability subsequent yr with eyes on going public sooner or later.
The chat app, which crossed 900 million customers, is making “lots of of hundreds of thousands of {dollars}” by adverts and subscriptions, Durov instructed the Financial Times in an interview. He talked about that whereas world buyers have supplied the corporate cash at a greater than $30 billion valuation, Telegram goals to go public sooner or later.
“The principle 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 instructed FT.
Whereas Telegram just isn’t seeking to elevate a mega spherical, the corporate is open to funding in change for smaller fairness.
Telegram launched a Premium subscription two years in the past and inside months crossed the mark of 1 million paid customers. The corporate additionally affords advert options for one-to-many channels and plans to launch advert income sharing with channel homeowners this month. Durov instructed FT that advert options at present are restricted to sure geographies and the corporate mandates companies to spend between €1mn and €10mn. Telegram is seeking to increase advert choices globally this yr and in addition make room for small ticket spenders.
Earlier this month, the corporate introduced that private customers can convert their accounts to enterprise accounts by paying a subscription charge.
Other than these options, Telegram has additionally experimented with blockchain-based tasks by the TON basis. In December 2022, the corporate auctioned premium usernames utilizing TON Blockchain to let individuals use the app with none SIM. In September 2023, Telegram added a self-custodial crypto pockets globally besides within the U.S.
Durov has mentioned 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 resolve moderation points that always plague the platform.
