Truecaller hits 200 million users
Truecaller, one of the world’s largest caller-identification service providers, has amassed 200 million monthly active users and is increasingly proving that it can turn a profit, it said Tuesday.
In India, Truecaller’s largest market, the service now has 150 million monthly active users, it said.
Reaching the 200 million milestone gives the Swedish firm a significant lead over its Seattle-based chief rival Hiya, which as of October last year had about 100 million users.
But unlike its rivals, Truecaller has expanded beyond its caller ID and spam monitoring service. In recent years, it has added messaging and payments services in some markets. Both of these are gaining adoption, said Truecaller co-founder and chief executive Alan Mamedi (pictured above) in an interview with TechCrunch.
The payments service, currently available only in India, would soon be expanded to some African markets, said Mamedi. In India, Truecaller plans to offer lending service in a few weeks, he said.
Finances
There are scores of startups in India today that are offering payments service to users. Dozens of firms, including Truecaller and giants such as Alibaba-backed Paytm, and Walmart’s PhonePe have rolled out payments service in the country that is built atop of UPI, an infrastructure developed by a coalition of banks — and backed by the government.
What makes Truecaller unique is that it is not burning so much money.
Mamedi said Truecaller was profitable in the quarter that ended in December. “It’s been a very proud moment for us, especially in an industry where most companies spend a lot of money to onboard users,” he said. Truecaller has raised about $99 million to date, per Crunchbase, and counts Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins among its investors.
Truecaller generates more than half of its revenue from ads that it serves to its users. But Mamedi said the firm’s subscription service, which offers a range of additional features including stripping of ads, is gaining traction. Today, it accounts for about 30% of all revenue Truecaller clocks, he said.
The startup will attempt to maintain this momentum — and it did so in January — but Mamedi cautioned that things may change based on immediate business decisions such as potential acquisition of startups. What happens next? IPO is on the cards, but he said the startup will take two years to be ready for that phase of its journey.
Truecaller, one of the world’s largest caller-identification service providers, has amassed 200 million monthly active users and is increasingly proving that it can turn a profit, it said Tuesday. In India, Truecaller’s largest market, the service now has 150 million monthly active users, it said. Reaching the 200 million milestone…
Recent Posts
- Amazon expands enterprise AI play with wider availability of its Q chatbot
- YouTube TV on Android introduces new Multiview feature – here’s how to use it
- Prime Video movie of the day: Road House is an action-packed remake of the ’80s cult classic
- CBP is interrogating TikTok employees
- The European Union is investigating Meta’s election policies
Archives
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- December 2011