Telegram founder Pavel Durov mentioned that the corporate expects to hit profitability subsequent 12 months with eyes on going public sooner or later.

The chat app, which crossed 900 million customers, is making “lots of of thousands and thousands of {dollars}” by adverts and subscriptions, Durov informed the Monetary Instances in an interview. Whereas international traders have provided the corporate cash at a greater than $30 billion valuation, he talked about that Telegram goals to go public sooner or later.

“The principle purpose why we began to monetize is as a result of we needed to stay impartial. Typically talking, we see worth in [an IPO] as a way to democratize entry to Telegram’s worth,” he informed FT.

Whereas Telegram isn’t trying to increase a mega spherical, the corporate is open to funding in alternate for smaller fairness.

Telegram launched a premium subscription two years in the past. Inside months, it crossed the mark of a million paid customers. The corporate additionally gives advert options for one-to-many channels and plans to launch advert income sharing with channel house owners this month. Durov informed FT that advert options are at the moment restricted to sure geographies. The corporate additionally mandates businesses to spend between €1 million and €10 million. Telegram is trying to increase advert choices globally this 12 months and likewise make room for small ticket spenders.

Earlier this month, the corporate introduced that private customers can convert their accounts to enterprise accounts by paying a subscription charge.

Other than these options, Telegram has additionally experimented with blockchain-based initiatives by the TON basis. In December 2022, the corporate auctioned premium usernames utilizing TON Blockchain to let individuals use the app with none SIM. In September 2023, Telegram added a self-custodial crypto pockets globally besides within the U.S.

Durov has mentioned previously that Telegram desires to launch AI-powered chatbots for customer support for enterprise customers. The corporate additionally plans to put money into AI to resolve moderation points that always plague the platform.