ShareChat secures USD 49 million in convertible debt funding from Lightspeed, Temasek, and additional investors

The current raise is through convertible debt which will convert to equity in the next priced round, the spokesperson explained.Till the time valuation discovery happens through a priced round, the last round valuation remains the only factual valuation, the spokesperson said, adding that any other number would be based on opinion or speculation.ShareChat offers content in over 15 Indian languages.

Homegrown social media company ShareChat on Monday announced it has raised USD 49 million (about Rs 407 crore) by way of convertible debentures from existing investors Lightspeed, Temasek and Alkeon Capital, among others.

The capital raise will help the company invest further in its ad targeting technology as well as in continuing the growth of consumer transactions business on ShareChat Live and Moj Live, according to a release.

''ShareChat (Mohalla Tech Pvt Ltd)...today announced the closure of its USD 49 million funding round via convertible debentures led by existing investors Lightspeed, Temasek, Alkeon Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures and HarbourVest, among others,'' the release said.

ShareChat (Mohalla Tech) runs a short video platform, Moj besides ShareChat app, which together caters to over 325 million users. According to the release, ShareChat app is already operationally profitable, and short video app Moj is expected to achieve operational profitability over the next few months.

As the company marches towards profitability, it has announced an organisation-wide ESOP bonus programme that will double the ESOP ownership for all of its current employees. The move is aimed at retaining its top talent and rewarding them for taking the company to a financially healthier state.

Ankush Sachdeva, CEO and Co-founder of ShareChat and Moj, said the new funds will be utilised to bolster the robust monetisation plans and propel the company on a path to breakeven and beyond.

The continued support of existing investors ''in a challenging financial environment is a resounding vote of confidence for the path we have taken over the past years to move rapidly towards profitable growth'', Sachdeva added.

On the expanded ESOPs, Sachdeva said, ''Our employees were the single most important force powering 2x revenue growth and 90 per cent reduction in our monthly losses over the past two years''.

ShareChat, he said, believes in recognising their efforts and incentivising the teams to continue the momentum and push the company to profitability in the next 4-5 quarters and onwards towards an IPO.

''We are excited to announce a special bonus grant that will double the total ESOP grant for every employee. We are setting aside an ESOP pool equal to 3.5 per cent of the cap table to be disbursed as bonus grants,'' Sachdeva elaborated.

On reports that valuation has eroded by about 60 per cent to less than USD 2 billion, ShareChat spokesperson asserted that the current raise is through convertible debt which will convert to equity in the next priced round, and until then the previous round effectively remains the factual valuation.

''The last priced round of ShareChat was in May 2022 at a valuation of USD 5 billion. The current raise is through convertible debt which will convert to equity in the next priced round,'' the spokesperson explained.

Till the time valuation discovery happens through a priced round, the last round valuation remains the only factual valuation, the spokesperson said, adding that ''any other number would be based on opinion or speculation''.

ShareChat offers content in over 15 Indian languages. The company has, in the past year, focused on rapidly monetising its various platforms and seen its revenue surge, the release said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)