Mohalla Tech, which holds short video app Moj and ShareChat, has raised $266 million at a valuation of US$ 3.7 billion in the round conducted by Alkeon Capital in its Series-G round. The investors who partook in the round include Temasek, Moore Strategic Ventures (MSV), Harbourvest and India Quotient. This is the third round of investment for the startup in 2021.
The firm has raised a total funding of $913 million this year on the back of its platform’s robust growth since the TikTok ban in June 2020. In the previous rounds, it raised $145 million in July, and $502 million in April, directed by Tiger, Snapchat and Twitter.
The latest round of funding will help build deep capabilities on priority areas such as social and live commerce, extending its AI/ML team which is now around 100 people strong and stretched across the US, Europe and India, the company stated in a report.
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The company has over 2000 employees and counted several latest features to create its products to be the leader in the Indian short video and social media division. “With social and live commerce initiatives, the company hopes to reach a target of US $ 100 million annualised creator earnings by the end of 2023,” the company expressed.
Ankush Sachdeva, CEO & Co-founder, Moj and ShareChat, said, “Moj and ShareChat have been growing at an explosive pace. Both our products have been leading the market with the highest monthly active user base, a very active creator set and amazing new partnerships to delight our community. This fresh funding will further strengthen our position and help us deliver immersive social experiences to our community.”
Founded in 2015 by three IIT Kanpur alumni- Sachdeva, Farid Ahsan and Bhanu Singh, ShareChat was one of the early rising regional language visual content players. It established Moj in June 2020, after the TikTok ban, and has seen substantial growth in the sector, along with DailyHunt’s Josh. So far, the firm has raised $1.177 billion across eight investment rounds. ShareChat and Moj have a user base of 340 million.
With the growth, the brand was also discussing acquiring its rival MX TakaTak, which Mint first reported.
