Telegram is actively adding new users and may become a billionaire by the end of the year.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov said, that the messenger ended the last quarter with a positive cash flow and the company expects to reach profit by the end of 2024. In a March interview with the FT, he predicted profitability «if not in 2024, then in 2025». Durov also reiterated that Telegram now has 900 million monthly users, adding that half of them use the messenger daily. It may be recalled that the mark of 800 million monthly active Telegram users passed in July 2023. According to DataAI, Telegram is one of the top 6 most downloaded apps worldwide.
In March, Telegramraised $330 million from the sale of bondsand it was reported then that the issue was even “oversubscribed” due to increased demand (lower yield, lower discount at placement). In an interview with the FT, Durov also said that Telegram is now worth $30 billion and will go public by March 2026.
Telegram has a non-transparent ownership structure, and a decade of unprofitability does not prevent it from growing rapidly. From the very beginning, Telegram attracted investors non-publicly, so it is not known for sure who exactly is funding the messenger, and its business model is not self-sufficient. The previously launched advertising on Telegram did not cover the costs, while the number of Telegram Premium subscribers in January exceeded 5 million users (a paid subscription is now available in mid-June 2022), but earlier Pavel Durov said that 2.5-3% of Telegram users should buy premium to cover all costs — about 20 million at that time. We can also recall the TON blockchain platform project, whose launch resulted in a multimillion-dollar fine in the United States and considerable losses.
On March 31, Telegram launched monetization for channel owners, which is not yet available in Ukraine — meanwhile, high-ranking Ukrainian officials continue to discuss the risks and the need for legislative regulation of social networks and messengers, including Telegram.