Telegram founder Pavel Durov said the company expects to achieve profitability next year, with the goal of going public in the future.
The chat app, which has more than 900 million users, makes “hundreds of millions of dollars” through advertising and subscriptions, Durov told the Financial Times in an interview. He noted that global investors have offered a valuation of more than $30 billion for the company, but that Telegram is targeting a public listing in the future.
“The main reason we started monetizing was because we wanted to remain independent. Typically we see the following values: [an IPO] “It is a means to democratize access to Telegram’s value,” he told the FT.
Telegram is not considering a large funding round, but the company is open to investments in exchange for a smaller stake.
Telegram launched its premium subscription two years ago and within a few months, the number of paying users exceeded 1 million. The company also offers advertising solutions for one-to-many channels and plans to start sharing advertising revenue with channel owners this month. Durov told the FT that the advertising solution is currently limited to certain regions and that the company requires agencies to spend between €1mn and €10mn. Telegram plans to expand its advertising offering globally this year and also make space for those who spend less on tickets.
Earlier this month, the company announced that individual users can convert their accounts to business accounts by paying a subscription fee.
In addition to these solutions, Telegram has also experimented with blockchain-based projects through the TON Foundation. In December 2022, the company auctioned off premium usernames using the TON blockchain to allow people to use the app without a SIM. In September 2023, Telegram added self-managed cryptocurrency wallets globally, excluding the United States.
Durov has said in the past that Telegram wants to launch an AI-powered chatbot for customer service for business users. The company also plans to invest in AI to solve the coordination issues that often plague the platform.