Bengaluru-based social network platform Sharechat that recently launched a TikTok knockoff Moj, said Thursday it has raised USD 40 million pre-Series E round from a clutch of new and existing investors.
ShareChat said it will use the funding to bolster its new platform Moj. The company put together a short-video platform within 30 hours and launched it in July, just after TikTok was banned, making it one of the many local startups that joined the fray to cash in on the void left after the Indian government blocked TikTok among dozens of other apps with China origins following the two countries’ border clash.
Since then, the app, ShareChat said has recorded phenomenal growth in terms of user signup and retention. According to the company, the monthly active users (MAU) for ShareChat stand at 160 million, while Moj has over 80 million MAUs. In August, it even brought back 50% of its employees which it had laid off earlier this year due to the pandemic.
The six-year-old company has earmarked a large part of the new funding towards product development, growing its creator ecosystem, and establishing partnerships with music labels for its new platform Moj. It recently partnered with Saregama, an Indian music label firm to increase its music catalog for creators to make short-videos.
“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 capabilities and helping the creator community,” said Ankush Sachdeva, CEO and co-founder, ShareChat.
The company recently announced an additional USD 14 million in its employee stock ownership pool, taking the total to USD 35 million.
Investors involved in this round are Dr. Pawan Munjal, CEO and chairman of Hero MotoCorp, DCM Shriram Promoters Family Office, SAIF Partners, Twitter, Lightspeed Ventures, and India Quotient.
The company has raised a total of USD 264 million to date and is in talks with investors to raise over USD 100 million in its Series E round.