The encrypted messaging platform Telegram has sold bonds to raise $210 million from a number of investors. The company’s founder and CEO, Pavel Durov, is also among the investors.
The fundraising effort takes place at a time when money is tight and Telegram is still not profitable.
According to Telegram Chief Investment Adviser John Hyman, who spoke to TechCrunch, “Interest rates have gone up significantly since 2021, the bonds have a different issue price,” the company raised the money by issuing $270 million worth of bonds.
The bonds were bought, in Pavel Durov’s words, by a group of “well-known funds with stellar reputations”.
Pavel Durov said that he personally invested “tens of millions into Telegram’s growth” by purchasing nearly a fourth of the new Telegram bonds.
Based in Dubai, Telegram Messenger is one of the world’s top 5 most downloaded apps. It surpassed 700 million active users each month in the summer of 2022.
The network for encrypted chat offered a premium subscription last year that costs about $5 (about Rs 400) each month.
In the last 2.5 years, the platform has gained almost 300 million new users.
Pavel Durov announced a new “Stories” feature last month and promised it would be accessible in the first few days of July.
On his Telegram channel, Pavel Durov posted, “For years, our users have been asking us to implement Stories in Telegram. More than half of all feature requests that we receive are related to Stories.”
Users will be able to decide with fine detail who can view their stories: Everyone, only their connections (with some exceptions), a small number of carefully chosen contacts, or a list of Close Friends.
Additionally, users will be able to conceal articles posted by any contact by moving them to the Contacts section’s “Hidden” list rather than the main screen.