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India Lands Yet Another $1 Billion-Plus Startup in Mohalla

India’s Mohalla Tech said that it raised $502 million from investors increasing its valuation to more than $2.1 billion.

India Lands Yet Another $1 Billion-Plus Startup in Mohalla
A commuter uses a mobile phone while travelling by train in Mumbai. (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)

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.

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.

“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.

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