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A cloud-based messaging platform built for speed, privacy and scale
HQ: Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Founded: 2013 | Employees: 60 core team, ~1,770 with contractors per GetLatka | Stage: Late Stage Private - Pre-IPO | Website: https://telegram.org
Telegram is a cloud-based instant messaging application founded in 2013 by brothers Pavel Durov and Nikolai Durov after Pavel's exit from VKontakte. Headquartered in Dubai, Telegram offers encrypted messaging, groups up to 200,000 members, channels, file sharing up to 4GB, and synchronization across iOS, Android, Windows, macOS and Linux via its proprietary MTProto protocol built by Nikolai Durov. The platform reached 950 million monthly active users in July 2024 and crossed 1 billion in March 2025, becoming the second most popular messaging app globally excluding WeChat, with 500 million daily active users opening the app 21 times per day on average.
Telegram remained free and founder-funded until monetization began in 2021-2022, relying on debt rather than equity to preserve control. It
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