Homegrown Social Media Firm ShareChat Lays Off 200 Staff

The Bengaluru-based startup has experienced a significant drop in valuation, decreasing from $4.9 billion last year to $1.5 billion this year.

ShareChat is grappling with challenges and has recently laid off 200 employees based in Bengaluru.

After facing a valuation cut of over 50 per cent this financial year, homegrown startup and social media platform ShareChat is grappling with challenges and has recently laid off 200 employees based in Bengaluru, the media has reported. According to a report by The Economic Times, this action was taken in response to a substantial decline in the overall valuation. 

The Bengaluru-based startup has experienced a significant drop in valuation, decreasing from $4.9 billion last year to $1.5 billion this year. This represents a substantial decline of around Rs 28,300 crore in the company's valuation.

"ShareChat today undertook a strategic restructuring as part of its annual planning for the year 2024. The decision reflects the company's commitment to streamlining its cost base and achieving profitability within the next four-six quarters," the company was quoted as saying.

TechCrunch has reported that ShareChat, supported by Google and Temasek, is in the last phases of procuring $50 million in fresh funding to regain its diminished valuation. The company has raised a cumulative total of $1.4 billion thus far. The company co-founders Bhanu Pratap Singh and Farid Ahsan had resigned from their positions at the firm in January 2023, leading to investors losing faith in it.

ShareChat made workforce reductions of approximately 25 pe cent this year, and prior to this, Mohalla Tech, ShareChat's parent company, closed down its fantasy gaming venture named Jeet11, resulting in the termination of employment for 100 staff.

The country's largest indigenous social media company, ShareChat (Mohalla Tech Pvt Ltd), has more than 400 million MAUs (monthly active users) across all of its platforms, reports suggest. ShareChat was established in 2015 by Ankush Sachdeva, Bhanu Pratap Singh, and Farid Ahsan. Its portfolio of social media companies includes Moj and ShareChat App. 

Over 180 million monthly active users across the nation currently utilise the ShareChat App. Moj, which was introduced in July 2020, is the biggest short video platform in India, with close to 300 million people using the app each month to watch content.