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ShareChat raises $16 Mn additional debt; lays off 5% employees

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
ShareChat raises $16 Mn additional debt; lays off 5% employees
Medial

Mohalla Tech, the parent entity of the vernacular social media platform ShareChat and short video entertainment app Moj, has expanded its debt round to $65 million with $16 million latest infusion from Singapore-based EDBI. In April, ShareChat had raised around $49 million in debt from existing investors including Temasek, Lightspeed, HarbourVest, Moore Strategic, Rimco and Alkeon. The company also saw its valuation nosedived to less than $2 billion from $5 billion during its last fundraise in June 2022. The additional funds will be utilized for advertising company’s tech stack and expand the consumer transactions businesses with investment in newer monetization features, ShareChat said in a press release. A Moneycontrol report also said that ShareChat has let go of 5% of its workforce as a part of its mid-year performance cycle. In 2023, the firm put several cost-cutting measures and sacked 700 employees across two phases. “…some employees are impacted on the basis of performance. This accounts for less than 5% of our workforce. We have a number of open positions and we continue looking for high quality talent across functions,” said a company spokesperson. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, ShareChat has raised around $1.8 billion from investors including Twitter (now X), Alkeon Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, and Tencent, among others. ShareChat claims that the app is operationally profitable for the past several months, while the Moj app is close to operating break-even. Both apps cater to over 325 million users. While the Ankush Sachdeva-led firm is yet to file its FY24 financials, it spent nearly Rs 4,000 crore in FY23 to earn Rs 533 crore in revenue. Overall, it recorded Rs 3,241 crore loss in FY23. The surge in losses was primarily due to the write-off undertaken by the company for the acquisition of Moj’s competitor MxTakaTak. ShareChat spent nearly $700 million via cash and stock to acquire the Times Internet-backed company.

Google-backed ShareChat raises $49 Mn debt

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
Google-backed ShareChat raises $49 Mn debt
Medial

Mohalla Tech, the parent entity of the vernacular social media platform ShareChat and short video entertainment app Moj, has raised around $49 million in debt from existing investors. The company has passed a board resolution to issue 4,895 Series I debentures at an issue price of $10000 each to raise $49 million, regulatory filing with RoC shows. Existing investors including Temasek, Lightspeed, HarbourVest, Moore Strategic, Rimco and Alkeon invested in the debt round. Inc42 reported the development first. The fresh funding comes at a time when ShareChat was looking to raise $50 million in a down round to the tune of $1.5 billion. The firm was valued at $5 billion during its last fundraise in June 2022. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, ShareChat has raised around $1.8 billion from investors including Twitter (now X), Alkeon Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, and Tencent, among others. ShareChat has been eyeing a large equity round but the company is finding it difficult to rope in new and existing backers. It also put several cost-cutting measures and laid off 700 employees across two phases in 2023. The company’s struggle is largely driven by its inability to monetise from the user base which has low-purchasing power. Even after nine-year of its operations, ShareChat had to spend nearly Rs 4,000 crore in FY23 to earn Rs 533 crore in revenue. On a unit level, it spent Rs 7.16 to earn a rupee of operating revenue in the last fiscal. This is one of the highest expense-to-revenue ratios for a unicorn in FY23. The surge in losses was primarily due to the write-off undertaken by the company for the acquisition of Moj’s competitor MxTakaTak. The company spent heavily ($700 million via cash and stock) to acquire the Times Internet-backed company. While ShareChat has almost no competition after the blanket ban on China-origin apps like Bytedance-owned Helo, its short video app Moj competes with Dailyhunt’s Josh, YouTube Shorts and Instagram.

Exclusive: NeoGrowth raises debt from UTI International

EntrackrEntrackr · 9m ago
Exclusive: NeoGrowth raises debt from UTI International
Medial

MSME-focused digital lender NeoGrowth has raised debt funding from UTI International Wealth Creator. This will be the second debt infusion in the Mumbai-based company in the ongoing calendar year. NeoGrowth's board has approved the issuance and allotment of up to 4,200 non-convertible debentures (NCDs) to raise up to Rs 42 crore (approx $5 million), its regulatory filings sourced from the RoC shows. These NCDs will carry an interest rate of 11.7% per annum. UTI International Wealth Creator 4 is a debt fund managed by Mumbai-based UTI Asset Management Company. The debt infusion in the company has come at a time when NeoGrowth is eyeing to raise Rs 500 crore growth capital through private equity investment. The firm managed assets worth Rs 2,750 crore by the end of the last fiscal year, and aims to close FY25 with Rs 4,000 crore AUM. NeoGrowth, an NBFC co-founded by Dhruv Khaitan and Piyush Khaitan, offers short-term unsecured loans to MSMEs, providing amounts of up to Rs 75 lakh with a tenure of up to 100 months. To date, the company has raised approximately $138 million through a mix of equity and debt funding from investors including MicroVest, FMO, Omidyar Network, DFC, and others. Neogrowth registered 57% growth in its gross revenue which spiked to Rs 601 crore in the fiscal year ending March 2024 from Rs 381 crore in FY23. Meanwhile, its profit before tax surged almost 4X to Rs 95 crore in the last fiscal year from Rs 24 crore in FY23.

Decoding ShareChat’s financial performance in FY24

EntrackrEntrackr · 7m ago
Decoding ShareChat’s financial performance in FY24
Medial

Fintrackr All Stories Decoding ShareChat’s financial performance in FY24 ShareChat’s revenue from operations grew 29.9% to Rs 718.1 crore during the fiscal year ending March 2024 as compared to Rs 552.73 crore in FY23. Mohalla Tech, the parent entity of ShareChat and Moj, claimed 33% year-on-year growth in FY24, but didn’t disclose net losses, showing adjusted EBITDA instead. Entrackr reviewed financials to provide details. Revenue from operations was Rs 718.1 crore in FY24 versus Rs 552.73 crore in FY23. Live streaming or chatroom revenue contributed 56.1% of total operating revenue, growing 41.4% to Rs 403 crore. Advertising revenue increased 23.5% to Rs 315.37 crore. The company generated Rs 12.52 crore via Jeet 11 before it shut down in December 2022. Additionally, Rs 28.98 crore came from interest and gains on financial assets, bringing total revenue to Rs 747.08 crore in FY24. Employee benefits, the largest cost, accounted for 21.9% of expenses, falling 16.8% to Rs 580.39 crore from Rs 697.96 crore. Cost-cutting measures included laying off 700 employees and reducing server rent by 45.3% to Rs 559.57 crore. Finance costs rose 50% to Rs 510.57 crore due to debt. Provision for doubtful assets and loans increased 102% to Rs 402.56 crore. Overall, expenses declined 33.2% to Rs 2,644.71 crore from Rs 3,958.75 crore. ShareChat’s losses decreased 41.4% to Rs 1,898.94 crore in FY24 from Rs 3,240.83 crore in FY23. Adjusted EBITDA loss was Rs 777.84 crore versus Rs 2,342.11 crore. Outstanding losses were Rs 12,438 crore. Operating cash outflows improved 68.3% to Rs 964.96 crore. The EBITDA margin improved to -183.50%. The company spent Rs 3.68 for each rupee of operating revenue earned. By the end of FY24, cash and bank balances were Rs 36.2 crore, with total current assets at Rs 128.96 crore. In 2024, $65 million was raised in debt across two tranches. ShareChat has secured around $1.3 billion from investors, including Twitter (now X), Alkeon Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, and Tencent. Non-current liabilities rose from Rs 4,810.17 crore to Rs 5,401.44 crore. The company had Rs 357.78 crore in dues to creditors and micro-enterprises and small enterprises. Reliance on external funding for working capital is necessary due to losses, debt, and limited cash. Disclaimer: Bareback Media has recently raised funding from investors possibly involved in competing businesses or associated with companies covered in our reporting. This does not influence our coverage in any manner.

ShareChat cuts 5% jobs as part of performance review cycle

EntrackrEntrackr · 7m ago
ShareChat cuts 5% jobs as part of performance review cycle
Medial

ShareChat cuts 5% jobs as part of performance review cycle Vernacular social media platform ShareChat is reportedly laying off about 5% of its workforce, marking its second round of layoffs in the past six months. In August 2024, ShareChat let go of 5% of its workforce as part of its mid-year performance cycle. In 2023, the firm implemented several cost-cutting measures and sacked 700 employees across two phases. According to Moneycontrol, which first reported the news, ShareChat currently employs between 530 and 550 people, and around 5% will be let go as part of an annual review process set to conclude later this month. Entrackr has reached out to ShareChat for comments. In 2024, the Ankush Sachdeva-led firm raised $65 million in debt across two tranches. ShareChat has raised around $1.3 billion from investors including Twitter (now X), Alkeon Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, and Tencent, among others. In the last fiscal year, ShareChat's operational revenue increased by 29.9% to Rs 718.1 crore from Rs 552.73 crore in FY23. With a reduction in expenses and moderate growth in scale, the company's losses decreased by 41.4% to Rs 1,898.94 crore in FY24. In 2024, the number of layoffs dropped significantly to 4,700 employees, a sharp decrease from the 24,000 layoffs in 2023 and 20,000 in 2022. With funding recovery underway, layoffs are expected to decrease further in the current calendar year.

Decentro raises Rs 30 Cr in Series B, to shift domicile to India

EntrackrEntrackr · 2m ago
Decentro raises Rs 30 Cr in Series B, to shift domicile to India
Medial

Decentro raises Rs 30 Cr in Series B, to shift domicile to India Y-Combinator-backed fintech startup Decentro has raised Rs 30 crore in its Series B funding round led by InfoEdge Ventures, with participation from Stargazer Growth and existing investors such as Uncorrelated Ventures. Entrackr has exclusively reported the Series B round recently. The proceeds will be used to grow enterprise adoption, expand product capabilities, and strengthen go-to-market efforts across financial institutions. Co-founded by Rohit Taneja and Pratik Daudkhane, Decentro’s offerings cover consumer and business verification, payment infrastructure for collections and disbursals, and AI-driven debt recovery systems. The API banking platform, which processes over Rs 50,000 crore in annual payment volumes, plans to shift its parent entity from Singapore to India within the next 12 to 18 months. The company claims to be profitable and serves more than 1,300 businesses including NBFCs, digital lenders, banks, and fintech firms. Recently, it launched Scanner, a real-time risk assessment engine, and Neobot, a multilingual AI voice agent focused on debt collections. As per TheKredible, Decentro reported a 47% year-on-year increase in operating revenue to Rs 17.7 crore in FY24 from Rs 12 crore in FY23. However, the company slipped into a loss of Rs 2.46 crore during the same period, after posting a profit in the previous fiscal.

ShareChat adds fresh ESOPs worth $123 Mn

EntrackrEntrackr · 1y ago
ShareChat adds fresh ESOPs worth $123 Mn
Medial

Mohalla Tech, the parent entity of the vernacular social media platform ShareChat and short video entertainment app Moj, has added fresh employee stock option (ESOP) options for its employees under its existing ESOP plans. The development occurred shortly after the announcement of raising $49 million in debt from existing investors. The board at ShareChat has approved a special resolution to add 260,000 employee stock options to its existing plan, bringing the total ESOP pool to 846,300 options, its regulatory filing accessed through the Registrar of Companies (RoC) shows. Importantly, every 100 stock options will be converted into one (1) equity share at a later date decided in the agreement. The objective of expanding the ESOP pool is to promote employee ownership as well as to attract, retain, and motivate talents. As per Fintrackr’s estimates, the newly added ESOPs are worth Rs 1,017 crore or $123 million while the value of the total ESOP pool stood at Rs 3,310 crore or $400 million. According to startup data intelligence platform TheKredible, ShareChat has raised around $1.8 billion from investors including Twitter (now X), Alkeon Capital, Moore Strategic Ventures, and Tencent, among others. Despite mopping up close to $2 billion, the company wasn’t able to show substantial revenue as of FY23. Struggle in monetization led to a steep fall in valuation which stood at less than $2 billion in the recent bridge round. The firm was valued at $5 billion during its last fundraise in June 2022. During the last fundraise, it also announced to double the ESOP ownership for all of its current employees. During FY23, ShareChat had to spend nearly Rs 4,000 crore to earn Rs 533 crore in revenue. On a unit level, the firm spent Rs 7.16 to earn a rupee of operating revenue in the last reported fiscal. This was one of the highest expense-to-revenue ratios for a unicorn in FY23.

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