Heralding a new era for the Indian short-video making apps since the ban on Chinese platforms, Mohalla Tech, the parent company of homegrown social media apps Moj and ShareChat, and MX Media Co Ltd on Thursday decided to “strategically merge” their short-video platforms Moj and MX TakaTak in a deal that could be around $600-$700 million (Rs 4,500 crore-Rs 5,500 crores).
The combined short-video app – the largest in the country – will reach over 300 million monthly active users (MAUs) and 100 million strong creators’ communities, the companies said in a statement.
Post this transaction, MX Media and its shareholders will become strategic shareholders of ShareChat.
MX TakaTak will continue to function as a separate platform for now, but the two platforms’ creator base, content supply, and recommendation algorithms will be integrated.
“MX TakaTak is a popular platform and this merger further solidifies our position in the short video ecosystem. With this development, we aim to build the largest original content platform on Moj along with the largest community of users across India,” said Ankush Sachdeva, CEO, and co-founder, ShareChat and Moj.
Since its launch in July 2020, Moj has emerged as the largest Indian short video app, with over 160 million MAUs and over 50 million creator communities in the 15 Indian languages.
MX TakaTak was launched in the same month and reached 150 million MAUs, across 10 languages.
“MX has created two ‘unicorns’ within one business, unlocking significant value for our shareholders, and will now continue to double down on OTT, with significantly increased financial resources,” said Karan Bedi, CEO MX Media.
MX Media includes MX Player, MX Games, MX Music, and more.
Founded in 2015, Mohalla Tech has raised over $1.177 billion across eight fundraising rounds to date.
Since January this year, the company has grown to over 2,000 employees and added several new features as it focuses on building its products to be the leader in the Indian short video and social media space.
After the ban on TikTok and other Chinese short-video-making apps, the advertisement revenue from Indian short-form space has rapidly grown and tripled in just six months.
According to the latest report by homegrown consulting firm RedSeer Consulting, short-form content has grown 1.37 times in monthly active user (MAU) and 1.1 times in daily active users from June 2020 when the Chinese app TikTok was banned in India.
The monthly active users of the short-form segment in the country are expected to grow more than two times to reach 650 million users by 2025, clocking the second spot after television.
This significant growth is largely expected to be driven by the new 300 million Internet users that will be added by 2025.
