Chennai: A regional language video and picture sharing app, ShareChat will take on the China-based TikTok if it manages to raise as much as $200 million through investors Tencent Holdings, according to its plans.
The Bengaluru-based social media startup, run by Mohalla Tech Pvt Ltd, has been struggling to grow over the past few months after Chinese media giant ByteDance launched ShareChat clone Helo and short video app TikTok in India last year. If ShareChat is successful in raising the funds, this will give the company the required firepower to take on ByteDance, the world’s most valuable startup.
The Shunwei Capital-backed company would benefit from an investment by Tencent, best known for its WeChat messaging service, as well as numerous games and other content platforms. ShareChat is seeking a valuation of $ 600-700 million in the latest round of funding, one of the people cited above said on condition anonymity. The company was valued at around $ 460 million when it last raised money in September.