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MOSCOW (AFP) – Encrypted messaging app Telegram will launch paid services in 2021, its Russian-born founder Pavel Durov said on Wednesday (December 23), as the growing company needed “at least a few hundred million dollars. year”. .
“Telegram will start generating revenue from next year,” Durov said in a statement. “We will be able to launch countless new features and welcome billions of new users.”
Durov, 36, said he did not plan to sell the company and therefore needed to find other ways to raise funds.
Telegram is a popular social media platform in various countries, particularly in the former Soviet Union and Iran, and is used for both private communications and for sharing information and news.
It has attracted nearly 500 million active users since its launch by Durov and his brother Nikolai in 2013.
“For most of Telegram’s history, I paid company expenses from my personal savings,” Durov said.
“However, with its current growth, Telegram is on track to reach billions of users and require adequate funding.”
He said free features would remain free.
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