ShareChat

ShareChat is an Indian social media platform,[1] owned by Bangalore-based Mohalla Tech Pvt Ltd. It was founded by Ankush Sachdeva, Bhanu Pratap Singh and Farid Ahsan,[2] and incorporated on 8 January 2015.[3] ShareChat app has over 350 million monthly active users[4][5] across 15 Indian languages.

ShareChat
Original author(s)Ankush Sachdeva
Developer(s)Mohalla Tech
Initial releaseOctober 2015 (2015-10)
Stable release(s)
Android2023.6.9 / April 26, 2023 (2023-04-26)
iOS23.7.1 / April 15, 2023 (2023-04-15)
Operating system
Size
Available in15 languages
List of languages
Type
LicenceFreeware
Websitewww.sharechat.com
Mohalla Tech Pvt Ltd.
Type of site
Private
FoundedJanuary 2015 (2015-01)
HeadquartersBangalore, India
Area servedWorldwide
Founder(s)
  • Ankush Sachdeva
  • Bhanu Pratap Singh
  • Farid Ahsan
Key people
  • Ankush Sachdeva (CEO)
  • Bhanu Pratap Singh (CTO)
  • Farid Ahsan (COO)
IndustryInternet
Products
  • ShareChat
  • Moj
  • Moj Lite + (TakaTak)

Mohalla Tech is the parent company of applications such as ShareChat, Moj and Moj Lite + (TakaTak). It acquired MX TakaTak, a short video platform in February 2022.[6][7] The current valuation of the company is $5 billion.[8]

Foundation and history

ShareChat's holding company, Mohalla Tech Pvt Ltd, was incorporated in January 2015 by three IIT Kanpur graduates[9]— Ankush Sachdeva, Bhanu Pratap Singh and Farid Ahsan. The company is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka, and presently employs over 2500 people.[10]

Initially, ShareChat primarily worked as a content sharing platform, without any scope of users generating their own content. In April 2016, ShareChat enabled user-generated content creation on its platform, allowing its users to share their own posters and creative content. At around the same time, it also introduced open tagging for users, which would allow anyone to create their own hashtags depending on the content.[11]

The key people at the hierarchy of ShareChat include Ankush Sachdeva (co-founder and Chief Executive Officer), Farid Ahsan (co-founder and Chief Operating Officer), and Bhanu Pratap Singh (co-founder and Chief Technical Officer) All of the co-founders featured in Forbes' 30 under 30 Asia 2018.[12][13] In the wake of the ban on TikTok by the Indian government in June 2020, ShareChat launched the similar Moj app.

Funding

In September 2020, ShareChat raised $40 million from investors Dr. Pawan Munjal of Hero MotoCorp, Ajay Shridhar Shriram of DCM Shriram, Twitter, SAIF Partners, Lightspeed Ventures and India Quotient.[14] By April 2021 ShareChat had raised $500 million from investors and was valued at over $2 billion.[15] In May 2022, ShareChat raised $300 million from Google, Times Group and Temasek Holdings at a valuation of $5 billion.[16]

Acquisitions

In March 2019, Mohalla Tech acquired Transversal Tech-owned short video sharing platform, Clip.[17] In February 2020, it acquired Bengaluru-based online fashion marketplace Elanic.[18] In March 2020, it acquired a meme discovery and sharing platform, Memer.[19] In August 2020, it acquired a hyperlocal information platform, Circle Internet.[20] Sharechat parent company also bought MX TakaTak from Times Internet Group for $700 million in one of the biggest acquisitions of 2022.[21][22]

Initiatives against misinformation

On 17 April 2019, ShareChat took down around half a million pieces of content and removed 54,000 accounts for spreading fake news, hate speech and spam, and for conducting coordinated misinformation campaigns.[23]

Issues
  • ShareChat accused Bytedance of copying its design: Helo, another social media platform that was owned by TikTok's parent company, Bytedance is one of ShareChat's competitors. Bytedance has been accused by ShareChat of copying its design and UI pixel to pixel in 2018. Following Delhi High Court's direction, Bytedance changed its design for Helo.[24]
  • Layoffs and rehiring: ShareChat laid off 101 employees in May 2020[25][26] and since, ShareChat rehired over 50% of the laid-off workforce after the launch of its video platform Moj.[27] In December 2022, ShareChat laid off another 5% of its workforce.[28]

Apps

ShareChat

ShareChat app is multilingual social media platform, with 180 million monthly active users. It offers its users multiple options to express themselves through audio chat rooms, photo & video posts, status updates, microblogging, blogging and direct messaging in 15 Indic languages. This allows regional audiences to connect with like-minded users and communities.[29]

Features:

  • Audio chat rooms: ShareChat audio chatroom is voice-based hangout destination. This feature allows its users to discuss various topics in detail across 15 regional languages.[30]
  • Virtual gifting: ShareChat also offers Virtual Gifting where users can reward their favourite creator or host through digital tokens as a gesture of appreciation for their content. So far, Virtual Gifting has supported over 64,000 creators to monetise their content.[31][32]
  • SCTV: SCTV is a long-form video format that allows users to create elaborate videos ranging from 2 to 15 minutes.[33]

Moj

ShareChat's app Moj, launched on 29 June 2020, is a short-video platform that emulates the features of TikTok, which was among the apps banned by the Indian government in June 2020.

In a tweet, Ankush Sachdeva, co-founder and CEO of ShareChat, said the app was coded in 30 hours. It has received Google Play Best of 2020 Awards, as of 1 December 2020.[34]

Moj[35] has over 160 million monthly active users.[36]

See also

References
  1. "4 interesting ShareChat features that content creators should try out". TimesNow. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  2. "ShareChat: The no-English social network". forbesindia.com. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  3. Chathurvedula, Sadhana (3 May 2017). "ShareChat finds its niche with local languages". mint. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  4. "ShareChat closes $520 million funding round at $5 billion valuation". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  5. "ShareChat's Monthly Active User Base Reaches 160 Mn, Riding On Tier I Growth". Inc42 Media. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  6. "ShareChat's Moj and MX Taka Tak will soon be one short video app". The Indian Express. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  7. "MX TakaTak, Moj to merge - Times of India". The Times of India. TNN. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  8. John Sarkar (16 June 2022). "ShareChat closes $520 million round at $5 billion valuation - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  9. "IIT-K alumni-made ShareChat app wields local languages to challenge Facebook". Hindustan Times. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  10. "ShareChat hires back half of laid-off employees, expected to add another 150-200 in six months". The Economic Times. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  11. "ShareChat announces 'Private Messaging', 'Shake-N-Chat', 'Open Tagging' on its platform". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  12. "ShareChat founders, all UPites, figure on Forbes' 30 under 30 Asia list". Hindustan Times/. 14 April 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  13. "30 Under 30: How ShareChat is helping non-English users access digital content". Forbes India. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  14. "Twitter-backed Indian social network ShareChat raises $40 million". TechCrunch. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  15. Murgia, Madhumita (7 April 2021). "ShareChat valued at $2bn after India's TikTok ban". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  16. Vengattil, Munsif (30 May 2022). "Google backs India's ShareChat in $300 mln funding round at $5 bln valuation". Reuters. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  17. "Exclusive: Clip Gets Acquired By ShareChat In All Cash Deal To Help It Fight Off ByteDance in India". Inc42 Media. 1 March 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  18. "Acquisitions". INC42. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  19. Laghate, Gaurav. "ShareChat buys meme sharing app Memer". The Economic Times. Retrieved 12 May 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. Banerjee, Prasid (24 August 2020). "ShareChat acquires hyperlocal information platform Circle Internet". Livemint. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  21. "ShareChat buys MX TakaTak for USD 700 million - The New Indian Express". www.newindianexpress.com. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  22. Sil, Debarghya (7 December 2022). "2022 In Review: Startup M&As Surge Amidst Funding Crunch & Downturn". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  23. Mandavia, Megha (17 April 2019). "ShareChat takes down half a million pieces of content, 54K accounts removed". The Economic Times. Mumbai. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  24. Christopher, Nilesh. "ByteDance: Taken to court by ShareChat, ByteDance says Helo to new design". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  25. Grados, O. B. (April 1975). "[The laboratory in programs for enteric infection control]". Boletin de la Oficina Sanitaria Panamericana. Pan American Sanitary Bureau. 78 (4): 318–322. ISSN 0030-0632. PMID 123456.
  26. Mandavia, Megha. "ShareChat lays off 101 employees as advertising market tanks". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  27. "ShareChat hires back half of laid-off employees, expected to add another 150-200 in six months". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  28. "ShareChat lays off 5% of employees, shuts fantasy gaming vertical Jeet11". The Economic Times. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  29. P, Suraksha. "ShareChat's virtual gifting feature generates $50 million annually". The Economic Times. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  30. "4 interesting ShareChat features that content creators should try out". TimesNow. 18 August 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  31. P, Suraksha. "ShareChat's virtual gifting feature generates $50 million annually". The Economic Times. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  32. "4 interesting ShareChat features that content creators should try out". TimesNow. 18 August 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  33. "4 interesting ShareChat features that content creators should try out". TimesNow. 18 August 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  34. "Google Play Best of 2020 Awards Revealed". 1 December 2020.
  35. Upadhyay, Harsh (27 July 2021). "ShareChat raises $145 Mn at a valuation of $2.88 Bn". Entrackr. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  36. "India's ShareChat valued at $2.88 billion in $145 million fundraise". TechCrunch. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
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