Telegram Hits Record Profit—Despite Legal Turbulence for Its Founder

Telegram has posted its first-ever annual profit—a whopping $540 million in 2024—marking a dramatic turnaround from its $173 million loss just a year earlier. All this while its founder, Pavel Durov, is caught up in a high-profile legal case in France.

The messaging giant, based in Dubai, reported $1.4 billion in revenue, more than quadrupling its previous year’s figure. The surge is being attributed to a rise in paying users, growth in advertising, and strong performance from crypto-related partnerships, particularly those tied to its Toncoin blockchain ecosystem.

Legal Cloud Over Telegram’s Bright Sky

Despite the financial high, Telegram’s leadership is facing pressure. Durov—who holds French and UAE citizenship—was detained in Paris last year and is under investigation for alleged failure to moderate illegal content on the platform. The charges include serious accusations such as enabling child exploitation and terrorism-related activity. A conviction could result in jail time.

Durov, for his part, has called the charges politically motivated. He claims French authorities used child safety as a pretext to pressure him into silencing certain political voices in Romania. The French intelligence agency has denied the allegations.

What’s Fueling Telegram’s Growth?

Telegram now boasts over 1 billion monthly active users and operates with a lean internal team of around 60, outsourcing most moderation. According to investor materials:

• $292M came from premium subscriptions

• $250M from advertising

• The rest—nearly half—came from its "ecosystem & partnerships", including third-party mini apps built on its Ton blockchain

Toncoin, once developed by Telegram but now open source, is central to this ecosystem. It powers in-app purchases, payments, and advertising.

Eyeing the Future: Bonds, IPOs & AI

Telegram has kicked off a $1.5 billion bond sale to refinance existing debt. The offering comes with a sweetener: investors may get a 20% discount if Telegram eventually goes public. Executives hinted that an IPO is possible, depending on how the legal case plays out and market conditions evolve.

The company, still fully owned by Durov, has issued $2.4 billion in bonds over four years and repurchased $375 million of that debt in late 2024.

Looking ahead, Telegram sees big potential in AI. It recently partnered with Elon Musk’s xAI to integrate the Grok chatbot into the app. It’s the first time Grok is being deployed outside Musk’s X (formerly Twitter).

Durov and Musk, both vocal defenders of free speech, seem to be increasingly aligned—something Musk subtly endorsed by sharing Durov’s comments on X with a one-word reaction: “Wow.”

Telegram declined to comment on the ongoing investigation, but with billions in revenue, strong user growth, and now AI in the mix, the platform is clearly thinking bigger than encrypted chats.