Google is looking to acquire social media platform Sharechat, according to an ET Now report. The tech giant could acquire the Indian startup at a valuation of over a billion dollars.
Sharechat’s popularity has become a hit with investors too, as earlier Microsoft also was reportedly eyeing a stake in the startup.
The startup had last raised $40 million in a pre-series E round at a valuation of $650 million. For the $264 million it has raised so far, Sharechat has found takers like Twitter, SAIF Partners (now, Elevation Capital), Lightspeed Ventures along with Indian corporates like Dr.Pawan Munjal and DCM Shriram Promoters Family Office.
What could Google get out of Sharechat
The Indian social media platform Sharechat has built a strong base for itself in India. As a conscious decision, Sharechat isn’t going after the first adopters of the internet in India – the English-speaking audience which consumes content similar to the West. Sharechat has a presence in over 15 Indian languages.
Google would gain from Sharechat’s expertise in vernacular language growth. Google in July had announced that it would invest a whopping $10 billion in India through the Google for India Digitization Fund, out of which the tech giant had already invested $4.5 billion in Reliance Jio.
Even then, Google CEO Sundar Pichai had said that Google will invest in the following four areas