900 million users
In an interview with FT Pavel Durov reportedIt was stated that the number of Telegram users reached 900 million people. According to the entrepreneur, messenger has become one of the most popular social networks in the world, earning hundreds of millions of dollars thanks to ad exchanges and premium subscriptions. Durov noted that Telegram is already approaching profitability.
“We hope to be profitable next year, if not this year,” the businessman explained.
FT sources believe that once this happens, the company that owns the messaging app will want to list in the US. Durov did not rule out the possibility of the statement being made public, but did not name specific dates and locations. At the same time, the co-founder of messenger said: Global technology funds valued the company at more than $30 billion. However, Durov does not plan to sell Telegram.
“Overall, we see the value in the IPO as a means to democratize access to the value of Telegram,” the businessman explained.
He added that during a possible IPO, Messenger would consider selling some of the shares to its regular users. The Financial Times likens this move to that of Reddit, which announced that it would allocate some of its shares to retail investors ahead of its IPO in New York.
As Durov explained, Telegram can spend the increased share capital on the implementation of a chatbot based on artificial intelligence (AI). The entrepreneur did not disclose the details of this project.
Moderation and censorship
Durov also said that in 2024 Telegram will improve its moderation system in connection with the holding of various presidential elections around the world. Messenger plans to introduce AI-based mechanisms, among other things.
Pavel Durov also emphasized that he thinks it is wrong to control the way people express their thoughts. The entrepreneur added that this control is useless if they do not cross the “red line”.
“I believe in the competition of ideas. I believe every idea should be discussed. <…> Otherwise, we could quickly slide into authoritarianism,” Durov noted.
Not affiliated with the Kremlin
During their meeting with Durov, FT journalists also raised the issue that Russian officials have connections or certain pressure tools on Telegram. Durov called this information “incorrect”.
He recalled that he left Russia a year after refusing to give the FSB keys to decrypt the correspondence of six men accused of carrying out a terrorist attack in St. Petersburg. Durov explained this by saying that Telegram cannot help special services, as it is technically impossible.
“Some of the mobile numbers the FSB was interested in never had an account on Telegram, while the other part was automatically deleted last year due to inactivity,” the entrepreneur explained.
April 16, 2018 Roskomnadzor in connection with Durov’s rejection to start It blocks the messenger in Russia. Officially, it took just over two years. But for many users, Telegram continued to work both with and without block bypass services. On June 18, 2020, Roskomnadzor announced that the blockage had been lifted.
The Russian court has also repeatedly fined Telegram for publishing information prohibited in the Russian Federation and refusing to delete it. The last such claim was accepted in December 2023 – a magistrate in Moscow decidedthat the messenger must pay an administrative fine in the amount of 4 million rubles.