ShareChat raises USD 40mn from Pawan Munjal, DCM Shriram promoters' family office, others

ShareChat CEO and co-founder Ankush Sachdeva said the company is on a rapid growth path and is spearheading the growth of the Indic language social media landscape in the country. "Our short-video platform Moj has been on an explosive growth trajectory since its launch. Shriram said the passion and success exhibited by ShareChat and its growth trajectory has encouraged the development of a whole new social media product ecosystem in India.

Indian social networking platform ShareChat on Thursday said it has raised USD 40 million (about Rs 295.8 crore) in funding from Hero MotoCorp's Pawan Munjal, DCM Shriram promoters' family office, and others. The pre-series E round also saw participation from SAIF Partners, Twitter, Lightspeed Ventures and India Quotient, a statement said.

The company, which has raised USD 264 million in funding till date including this round, did not disclose the valuation at which the latest funds were raised. "This current round of funding will be utilised towards driving growth for Moj, the newly launched short-video platform from the Sharechat stable. Large parts of the fund have been earmarked for doubling down on investments made towards product development, growing its creator ecosystem and establishing partnerships with music labels," the statement said. ShareChat CEO and co-founder Ankush Sachdeva said the company is on a rapid growth path and is spearheading the growth of the Indic language social media landscape in the country.

"Our short-video platform Moj has been on an explosive growth trajectory since its launch. This funding will help us further invest into our product development, ML (machine learning) capabilities and helping the creator community," he added. ShareChat and Moj together have over 240 million MAUs presently. ShareChat has exceeded over 160 million MAUs (monthly active users) in the past month with the average daily time spent by users on the platform at 31 minutes. Moj, on the other hand, has garnered over 80 million MAUs with users spending on an average about 34 minutes on the platform.

Hero MotoCorp CEO and Chairman Pawan Munjal has invested in ShareChat in his personal capacity through his Family Trust, while Ajay Shridhar Shriram (Chairman of DCM Shriram) has invested through DCM Shriram Promoters Family Office, the statement said. "India's IT industry has made an indelible impact on the global economy in the recent decades and now India's new age start-ups are building on the existing resources to reach the next growth stage...I have immense faith in the young entrepreneurs of our country and truly believe in their aim to achieve a significant global customer base," Munjal said. Shriram said the passion and success exhibited by ShareChat and its growth trajectory has encouraged the development of a whole new social media product ecosystem in India. "We are equally passionate to contribute to this journey, helping them emerge as leaders in India and also, strong contenders on the global landscape," he added.