TechFlow, Dec 23 — Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, announced on his personal channel that the platform has achieved profitability for the first time since launching its commercialization three years ago. Telegram's total revenue surpassed $1 billion in 2024, ending the year with over $500 million in cash reserves (excluding cryptocurrency assets). Core business growth remained strong, with Premium subscribers increasing threefold year-on-year to reach 12 million, and advertising revenue growing several times over.
In terms of debt management, Telegram has issued approximately $2 billion in debt over the past four years and took advantage of favorable bond prices to complete partial buybacks in the fall of 2024. This year, the platform launched multiple innovative monetization features, including Stars, Gifts, Giveaways, Mini Apps, an Affiliate Platform, Telegram Business, and Telegram Gateway—demonstrating a sustainable financial model for social platforms that maintains independence and protects user interests.
Durov emphasized that the fundamental purpose of monetization is to ensure users remain the top priority of the platform.
