Twitter-backed social media startup ShareChat has acquired Bengaluru-based Memer, a platform that allows users to discover and share memes in regional languages. The terms and details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Memer, which was founded by three Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) graduates in August 2018, has gained popularity in regional markets, especially among young audiences. With the acquisition, Memer’s product suite will be integrated into ShareChat.
This is ShareChat’s second acquisition in a year. In February, the social media startup had bought another Bengaluru-based online fashion marketplace Elanic for an undisclosed amount, indicating its interest to venture into e-commerce.
ShareChat’s back-to-back acquisitions this year comes amid its monetisation plans due to growing competition from Chinese apps such as TikTok and Helo. Mint had reported in November 2019 that ShareChat has been engaging with advertisers for monetisation, after its losses ballooned 12-times in FY19.
Kae Capital-backed Memer claims to have added over a million pieces of original content on its platform since its inception. With the latest acquisition, the eight-member team at Memer will join ShareChat.
“We started Memer with a vision to enable original content creation among young Indian internet users better. In no time, the platform became popular across hindi-speaking markets with healthy hyper local communities. Gradually, we discovered memes to be an excellent content format to stimulate hyperlocal communities across the country. We were looking for a larger player who shares our passion for regional India, to take our innovation to the next level. We are super excited to be part of the ShareChat team,” said Amit Singh, co-founder and chief executive officer, Memer.
“Today, ShareChat is on a rapid growth path… We are looking for inorganic opportunities to complement our organic efforts and power the growth engine. We are on active lookout for startups that complement our product capabilities and share the vision of serving diverse content and social needs of Indian masses. Memer happens to be the first step towards this approach,” added Manohar Charan, vice president (VC) – corporate development and strategic finance, ShareChat.
