- Telegram signed a $300M deal with xAI to integrate Grok, monetizing its 1B users for the first time.
- The company reported its first-ever profit of $540M in 2024 and raised $1.5B through a bond backed by major investors.
- CEO Pavel Durov’s ongoing legal troubles in France could derail Telegram’s IPO ambitions despite strong growth.
Telegram just pulled off a surprise power move—inking a $300 million partnership with xAI, Elon Musk’s AI firm, to bring its chatbot Grok exclusively to the messaging app for one year. This isn’t just a licensing thing—xAI is also throwing in equity and a 50% share of any Grok-related subscription cash Telegram rakes in. CEO Pavel Durov called it a “win” for both sides, posting with emoji-filled glee. The company says Grok won’t touch user data, and the deal pushes Telegram ahead of rivals like WhatsApp and Snap, who’ve kinda stumbled with monetizing AI features so far.
Profit Surprise and Big-Time Backers
And it’s not just the AI stuff making waves. Telegram revealed it actually turned a profit—$540 million in 2024, off $1.4 billion in revenue. With 15 million paying users and 2.5 million new signups every day, they’re aiming for $2B in revenue and $700M in profit by the end of 2025. That shift from cash-burn to cash-flow helped Telegram raise $1.5 billion through a bond offering that was, surprisingly, oversubscribed. Big names like BlackRock, Citadel, and Mubadala jumped in, despite the bond yielding 9% and being tied to a possible IPO conversion if Telegram goes public by 2030.
Legal Trouble Casts a Long Shadow
But not all’s rosy—Durov is still stuck in France, facing 12 preliminary charges linked to child safety probe issues. His arrest last year has turned into a full-blown legal saga, with travel bans and court rulings blocking his U.S. investor meetings. Telegram claims they’ve followed the law, but the murky case could stall IPO plans and rattle investor confidence. It also throws a spotlight on how regulators might deal with encrypted platforms that skirt transparency.
IPO Dreams or Strategic Bridge?
Is Telegram gunning for an IPO? The bond’s IPO-linked clause hints yes, but others think this raise might be a bridge—buying time until Durov can clear his name or until Grok proves its staying power. The AI deal is flashy, but it’s temporary, and no one’s quite sure how sticky those AI subscriptions will be or how regulators will react. If Musk’s venture stumbles or the money doesn’t land, that could complicate things fast.
Final Word
Telegram is finally starting to look like a serious, money-making tech company. But with Durov’s legal mess still unfolding, it’s tough to tell whether this is the beginning of an IPO success story—or just a brief high before a crash.
