Telegram has raised close to $1 billion in debt financing by selling bonds. This includes $75 million from Mubadala and another $75 million from Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners in exchange for 5-year pre-IPO convertible bonds.
The raise will enable the platform to grow its global presence and drive a strategy to entice content creators and small businesses to the platform.
The deal has seen Mubadala anticipate benefits for Abu Dhabi’s startup ecosystem by having a local Telegram presence drawing in skills and talent to the capital. Furthermore, Telegram will be opening an office in Abu Dhabi following the investment — building out its regional presence from a Dubai, UAE base.
In December 2020, CEO Pavel Durov outlined a goal of providing revenue to Telegram content creators and small businesses by adding features including premium stickers and advertising.
The platform launched in 2013 and had amassed more than 500 million users by late January when an exodus from Facebook-owned WhatsApp boosted figures.
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