A project of our size needs at least a few hundred million dollars per year to keep going,β Mr. Durov wrote in his public channel on Telegram late last year. βWhile doing that, we will remain independent and stay true to our values, redefining how a tech company should operate.
Mr. Durov launched Telegram in late 2013 with his brother, Nikolai, just months before he was pushed out of VK, the Russian social-media platform he founded. Mr. Durov pitched his new appβfunded with the proceeds from the VK saleβless as a business than as a way for people to send messages while avoiding government surveillance and censorship.
