Mohalla Tech, the parent entity of the vernacular social media platform ShareChat and short-video entertainment app Moj, has raised an additional $16 million in debt financing from Singapore-based EDBI, taking the total amount raised in its ongoing round to $65 million.
The announcement comes three months after DealStreetAsia reported that EDBI, the corporate venture capital arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board, has evinced interest in investing in Mohalla Tech.
In March, ShareChat raised $48.8 million in funding via convertible debentures from its existing investors Temasek and Lightspeed. HarbourVest, Moore Strategic Ventures, Rimco and Alkeon also joined the financing.
According to media reports, Sharechat has also laid off 5% of its workforce, as a part of its mid-year performance cycle. In 2023, ShareChat let go of around 20% of its employees to cut costs and rein in losses.
The ShareChat app has been operationally profitable for the past several months, while the Moj app is close to operating break-even, the company said in a statement.
Mohalla Tech, which entered the coveted unicorn club in India in 2021, plans to use the newly raised funds to invest further in the company’s advertising tech stack and expand the consumer transactions businesses with investment in newer monetisation features for the creator ecosystem.
In June, DealStreetAsia reported that Chinese venture capital (VC) firm Shunwei Capital is understood to be in talks to increase its stake in Mohalla Tech.
The Indian government banned 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, in 2020 as a fallout of a border clash between Indian and Chinese troops that year. There has been a significant drop in funding from Chinese investors in the country since then.
According to data available from research firm Venture Intelligence, only two Indian startups have so far raised $56 million from Chinese investors alongside others this year. Meanwhile, in 2023, there were three transactions involving Chinese PE-VC firms alongside others, garnering a total of $276 million.
In comparison, as many as eight and 17 startups raised capital from Chinese investors in 2022 and 2021, respectively. The amount raised stood at $758 million and $5,182 million, respectively, the data further showed.
