India lands yet another $1 billion-plus startup in Mohalla Tech

India’s Mohalla Tech said that it raised $502 million from investors led by Lightspeed Ventures and Tiger Global, increasing its valuation to more than $2.1 billion.

Mohalla Tech, founded in 2015, has developed products including the social media platform ShareChat and the short-video app Moj. Their user community numbers 280 million combined, the company said.

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India’s startups have scored a flurry of new fundings this year, with at least five reaching a valuation of $1 billion or more – unicorn status in the tech industry – just this week. They include the social commerce firm Meesho Inc., financial-technology provider Cred, Indian investment platform Groww and API Holdings Pvt., one of India’s largest digital pharmacies.

Mohalla Tech reached that mark with the latest fundraising, which also came from Snap Inc. and Twitter Inc.

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Content-sharing platform ShareChat was valued at over $2 billion on Thursday, after it announced it had raised $502 million in funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Tiger Global, Snap and Twitter. The service has grown following the Indian government's decision to ban several apps originating from (or associated with) China last year, which increased demand for these apps across the country.

“We are at an exciting inflection point in our journey, where we are going after a massive opportunity with the right team in place and the backing of long-term investors who have a deep conviction in our mission,” said Ankush Sachdeva, chief executive officer and co-founder of ShareChat, in a statement.

•  With inputs from HT Correspondent