ShareChat to get investments from Google, Snap: Report

Google and Snap are likely to invest in Indian social media startup ShareChat. The Bangalore-based social networking app added Twitter as an investor in 2019 and is now tipped to get backing from two more American tech giants. 

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. 

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.

Post the Series E round, ShareChart’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.

If the deal is signed, it will be Snap’s first investment in an Indian startup. Google has been investing heavily in India. The search engine giant plans to invest a total of $10 billion in the country. 

In 2020, Google was reported to acquire ShareChat for $1.03 billion. ShareChat has seen a significant rise in its active user base 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. Google invested $4.5 billion in Reliance Jio in 2019.

ShareChat also owns a short-video app called Moj, which is an Indian alternative to the banned TikTok. The app has more than 80 million monthly active users.