PANews reported on December 23 that Telegram founder Pavel Durov posted on his personal channel that Telegram will achieve profitability for the first time in 2024, marking an important milestone in its three-year commercialization history. This year, the number of Telegram Premium subscribers has tripled to over 12 million, and advertising revenue has also increased several times. The total annual revenue exceeded US$1 billion, and the year-end cash reserves exceeded US$500 million (excluding crypto assets).
Over the past four years, Telegram has issued about $2 billion in bonds and repaid part of the debt this fall, taking advantage of favorable bond prices. This year's launch of a number of commercial innovations, such as Stars, Gifts, Giveaways, Mini Apps, Affiliate Platform, Telegram Business, and Telegram Gateway, prove that social media platforms can achieve financial sustainability while maintaining independence and respecting user rights. Durov emphasized that the goal of commercialization is to ensure that users are always Telegram's top priority.
