Telegram raises $210 million through bond sale amid funding crunch
New Delhi: Encrypted messaging platform Telegram has raised $210 million from investors through a bond sale. Investors include its founder and CEO Pavel Durov. Telegram is still not profitable amid the economic downturn. John Hyman, Telegram’s chief investment advisor, told TechCrunch that the platform raised the capital by issuing a $270 million bond. Since 2021 the interest rates have gone up significantly, the bond has a different issue price. According to Durov, “a group of well-known funds bought bonds.” Durov said he personally bought about a quarter of Telegram’s new bonds, and invested millions in Telegram’s development. Telegram Messenger is one of the top-5 most downloaded apps in the world. In the summer of 2022, it has crossed 700 million monthly active users. The company is based in Dubai. The encrypted messaging platform last year announced a paid subscription to its platform, which costs around $5 (roughly Rs. 400) per month. In the last two and a half years, the platform has added more than 300 million users. Last month, Durov introduced a new ‘Stories’ feature and said it would be available in early July. “For years, our users have been asking us to implement Stories in Telegram. More than half of all feature requests we receive are related to Stories,” Durov posted on his Telegram channel. Users will also be able to hide a story posted by a contact by moving them to the ‘Hidden’ list in the Contacts section instead of the main screen.
