Founder of the messaging application Telegram, Pavel Durov, announced that the platform has reached profitability for the first time since implementing monetization.
“As I predicted, 2024 turned out to be a very good year for Telegram. For the first time in its 3-year history of monetization, Telegram became profitable,” Pavel Durov shared in a post on his Telegram channel.
In 2024, the number of Telegram Premium subscribers tripled, surpassing 12 million users. Additionally, advertising revenue grew considerably. This led Telegram’s total revenue for the year to exceed $1 billion, with the company ending 2024 with over $500 million in cash reserves, excluding cryptocurrency assets.
Over the past four years, Telegram has raised approximately $2 billion through debt issuance. This fall, the company repaid a substantial portion of its debt, capitalizing on favorable bond prices. However, Pavel Durov emphasized that there is still much work ahead.
Notable innovations introduced by Telegram this year include Stars, Gifts, Giveaways, Mini Apps, the Affiliate Platform, Telegram Business, and Telegram Gateway. These initiatives highlight that social media platforms can achieve financial sustainability while remaining independent and respecting users’ rights, the Telegram founder remarked.
Telegram Moves Closer To IPO
The platform has evolved into one of the most widely used social media applications globally, generating “hundreds of millions of dollars” in revenue following the introduction of advertising and premium subscription services several years ago. In 2023, Telegram achieved $342 million in revenue, as reported by the Financial Times, and attracted an estimated 850 million monthly active users.
Earlier this year, Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, identified preparing the company—currently under his sole ownership—for an initial public offering (IPO) or potential acquisition by a major technology company as his key challenge. Telegram has received valuation offers exceeding $30 billion from prospective investors, including “global late-stage technology funds.” However, the platform has declined to sell and is instead considering a future IPO as a strategic direction.
“The main reason why we started to monetize is because we wanted to remain independent,” Durov previously explained. He also stated, “Generally speaking, we see value in an IPO as a means to democratize access to Telegram’s value.”
In the case of an IPO, Telegram might consider offering a portion of its stock to loyal users, following the example set by Reddit, which allocated a portion of its shares to retail investors as part of a New York listing.
The post Pavel Durov: Telegram’s Revenue Surpasses $1B In 2024, While Cash Reserves Exceed $500M appeared first on Metaverse Post.