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ShareChat

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ShareChat
Original author(s)Ankush Sachdeva
Developer(s)Mohalla Tech
Initial releaseOctober 2015; 9 years ago (2015-10)
Stable release(s)
Android16.6.5 / April 26, 2022; 2 years ago (2022-04-26)
iOS3.7.0 / April 19, 2022; 2 years ago (2022-04-19)
Operating system
Size
Available in15 languages
List of languages
Type
LicenceFreeware
Websitewww.sharechat.com
ShareChat(Mohalla Tech)
Type of site
Private
FoundedJanuary 2015; 9 years ago (2015-01)
HeadquartersBangalore, India
Area servedWorldwide
Founder(s)
  • Ankush Sachdeva
  • Bhanu Pratap Singh
  • Farid Ahsan
Key people
  • Ankush Sachdeva (CEO)
  • Bhanu Pratap Singh (CTO)
  • Farid Ahsan (COO)
IndustryInternet
Products
  • ShareChat
  • Moj
  • MX TakaTak

ShareChat (Mohalla Tech Pvt Ltd.) is an Indian social media company,[1] based in Bangalore. It was founded by Ankush Sachdeva, Bhanu Pratap Singh and Farid Ahsan,[2] and incorporated on 8 January 2015.[3] ShareChat is the parent company of applications such as ShareChat, Moj and Moj Lite+ (TakaTak). ShareChat acquired MX TakaTak, one of the largest homegrown short video platforms in February 2022.[4][5] ShareChat (Mohalla Tech Pvt Ltd.) has over 400 million monthly active users[6][7] across 15 Indian languages. The current valuation of the company is US$5 billion.[8]

Foundation and history

ShareChat's holding company, Mohalla Tech Pvt Ltd, was incorporated in January 2015 by three IIT Kanpur graduates[9]— Ankush Sachdeva, Bhanu Pratap Singh and Farid Ahsan. The company is headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka, and presently employs over 2500 people.[10]

Initially, ShareChat primarily worked as a content sharing platform, without any scope of users generating their own content. In April 2016, ShareChat enabled user-generated content creation on its platform, allowing its users to share their own posters and creative content. At around the same time, it also introduced open tagging for users, which would allow anyone to create their own hashtags depending on the content.[11]

The key people at the hierarchy of ShareChat include Ankush Sachdeva (co-founder and Chief Executive Officer), Farid Ahsan (co-founder and Chief Operating Officer), and Bhanu Pratap Singh (co-founder and Chief Technical Officer) All of the co-founders featured in Forbes’ 30 under 30 Asia 2018, having been recognised for their work with language-first approach in the social media landscape.[12][13] In the wake of the ban on TikTok by the Indian government in June 2020, ShareChat launched the similar Moj app and grew substantially.

Funding

In September 2020, ShareChat raised $40 million from investors Dr. Pawan Munjal of Hero MotoCorp, Ajay Shridhar Shriram of DCM Shriram, Twitter, SAIF Partners, Lightspeed Ventures and India Quotient.[14] By April 2021 ShareChat had raised $500 million from investors and was valued at over $2 billion.[15] In May 2022, ShareChat raised $300 million from Google, Times Group and Temasek Holdings at a valuation of $5 billion.[16]

Acquisitions

In March 2019, Mohalla Tech acquired Transversal Tech-owned short video sharing platform, Clip.[17] In February 2020, it acquired Bengaluru-based online fashion marketplace Elanic.[18] In March 2020, it acquired a meme discovery and sharing platform, Memer.[19] In August 2020, it acquired a hyperlocal information platform, Circle Internet.[20] Sharechat parent company also brought MX TakaTak from Times Internet Group.[21]

Initiatives against misinformation

On April 17, 2019, ShareChat took down around half a million pieces of content and removed 54,000 accounts for spreading fake news, hate speech, spam and conducting coordinated misinformation campaign.[22]

HR policies for women

ShareChat (Mohalla Tech Pvt Ltd.) announced the following HR policies for women in 2022 to build a nurturing and conducive environment for its workforce.

  • Five days leave to take care of exigencies related to the health & education of the children[23]
  • 26 weeks leave to adoptive mothers of children below six months and 12 weeks for children aged above that[24]
  • Five days of miscarriage caregiver leave for male employees to support their partners[25]
  • Nanny expenses of INR 7000 to women employees per child up to six years of age[26]
  • 12 weeks of leave for commissioning mothers[27]

Issues

  • ShareChat accused Bytedance of copying its design: Helo, another social media platform that was owned by TikTok's parent company, Bytedance is one of ShareChat’s competitors. Bytedance has been accused by ShareChat of copying its design and UI pixel to pixel in 2018. Following Delhi High Court's direction, Bytedance changed its design for Helo.[28]
  • Layoffs and rehiring: ShareChat laid off 101 employees in May 2020[29][30] and since, ShareChat rehired over 50% of the laid-off workforce with the success of its newly launched video platform, Moj. It is also expected to hire 150-200 more people by March 2021.[31]

Moj app

ShareChat's app Moj, launched on 29 June 2020, is a short-video platform that emulates the features of TikTok, which was among the apps banned by the Indian government in June 2020.

In a tweet, Ankush Sachdeva, co-founder and CEO of ShareChat, said the app was coded in 30 hours. It has received Google Play Best of 2020 Awards, as of 1 December 2020.[32]

Moj today has emerged as India's number one short video app with the highest monthly active users.[33] It has over 160 million monthly active users. In a recent feature by TechCrunch, Moj was positioned as #1 short video platform in India, beating others like MX TakaTak, Josh and Roposo.[34]

See also

References

  1. ^ "4 interesting ShareChat features that content creators should try out". TimesNow. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  2. ^ "ShareChat: The no-English social network". forbesindia.com. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  3. ^ Chathurvedula, Sadhana (3 May 2017). "ShareChat finds its niche with local languages". mint. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  4. ^ "ShareChat's Moj and MX Taka Tak will soon be one short video app". The Indian Express. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  5. ^ "MX TakaTak, Moj to merge - Times of India". The Times of India. TNN. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  6. ^ "ShareChat closes $520 million funding round at $5 billion valuation". Moneycontrol. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  7. ^ "ShareChat's Monthly Active User Base Reaches 160 Mn, Riding On Tier I Growth". Inc42 Media. 5 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  8. ^ John Sarkar (16 June 2022). "ShareChat closes $520 million round at $5 billion valuation - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  9. ^ "IIT-K alumni-made ShareChat app wields local languages to challenge Facebook". Hindustan Times. 7 June 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  10. ^ "ShareChat hires back half of laid-off employees, expected to add another 150-200 in six months". The Economic Times. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  11. ^ "ShareChat announces 'Private Messaging', 'Shake-N-Chat', 'Open Tagging' on its platform". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  12. ^ "ShareChat founders, all UPites, figure on Forbes' 30 under 30 Asia list". Hindustan Times/. 14 April 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  13. ^ "30 Under 30: How ShareChat is helping non-English users access digital content". Forbes India. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  14. ^ "Twitter-backed Indian social network ShareChat raises $40 million". TechCrunch. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  15. ^ Murgia, Madhumita (7 April 2021). "ShareChat valued at $2bn after India's TikTok ban". Financial Times. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  16. ^ Vengattil, Munsif (30 May 2022). "Google backs India's ShareChat in $300 mln funding round at $5 bln valuation". Reuters. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Exclusive: Clip Gets Acquired By ShareChat In All Cash Deal To Help It Fight Off ByteDance in India". Inc42 Media. 1 March 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  18. ^ "Acquisitions". INC42. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  19. ^ Laghate, Gaurav. "ShareChat buys meme sharing app Memer". The Economic Times. Retrieved 12 May 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ Banerjee, Prasid (24 August 2020). "ShareChat acquires hyperlocal information platform Circle Internet". Livemint. Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  21. ^ "ShareChat buys MX TakaTak for USD 700 million - The New Indian Express". www.newindianexpress.com. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  22. ^ Mandavia, Megha (17 April 2019). "ShareChat takes down half a million pieces of content, 54K accounts removed". The Economic Times. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  23. ^ "ShareChat Announces A Slew Of New Policies For Employees". BW people. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  24. ^ Sarkar, Brinda. "ShareChat introduces slew of employee policies around childcare, fertility, miscarriage, adoption". The Economic Times. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  25. ^ Sarkar, Brinda. "ShareChat introduces slew of employee policies around childcare, fertility, miscarriage, adoption". The Economic Times. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  26. ^ Bureau, BL Bengaluru (7 March 2022). "ShareChat announces ₹7,000 allowance per child per month for women employees". www.thehindubusinessline.com. Retrieved 17 October 2022. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  27. ^ www.ETHRWorld.com. "More women in the workforce directly impact profitability: ShareChat's approach towards a diverse workplace - ETHRWorld". ETHRWorld.com. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  28. ^ Christopher, Nilesh. "ByteDance: Taken to court by ShareChat, ByteDance says Helo to new design". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  29. ^ Grados, O. B. (April 1975). "[The laboratory in programs for enteric infection control]". Boletin de la Oficina Sanitaria Panamericana. Pan American Sanitary Bureau. 78 (4): 318–322. ISSN 0030-0632. PMID 123456.
  30. ^ Mandavia, Megha. "ShareChat lays off 101 employees as advertising market tanks". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  31. ^ "ShareChat hires back half of laid-off employees, expected to add another 150-200 in six months". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  32. ^ "Google Play Best of 2020 Awards Revealed". 1 December 2020.
  33. ^ Upadhyay, Harsh (27 July 2021). "ShareChat raises $145 Mn at a valuation of $2.88 Bn". Entrackr. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  34. ^ "India's ShareChat valued at $2.88 billion in $145 million fundraise". TechCrunch. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
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