Messaging service app, Telegram will unveil its pay-for services next year, the disclosure was made by its Russian-born founder Pavel Durov on Wednesday, citing the company’s growing need running into “a few hundred million dollars per year”.
“Telegram will begin to generate revenue, starting next year,” Durov said in a statement.
“We will be able to launch countless new features and welcome billions of new users.”
The 36-year-old Durov stated that he has no plan to sell the company and therefore needed to discover alternative ways to come up with funding.
Telegram rivals Facebook-owned Whatsapp, the app is a popular social media platform in a number of countries, particularly in the former Soviet Union and Iran. It serves both private communications and information sharing purposes.
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The platform has nearly 500 million active users since it was launched in 2013, by Durov and his brother Nikolai.
“For most of Telegram’s history, I paid for the expenses of the company from my personal savings,” Durov said.
“However, with its current growth Telegram is on track to reach billions of users and to require appropriate funding.”
He stated that the apps free features would remain free.
