Solana-Powered TikTok Challenger Chingari Raises $19M

Chingari, an Indian challenger to short video sharing platform TikTok, raised $19 million from venture funds, companies and individual investors. The company is powered by the Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) blockchain.

See Also: HOW HIGH CAN SOLANA GO? 

What Happened: According to a Friday Cointelegraph report, Chingari will follow the funding round with a launch of its mainnet and a token sale for its Solana-based GARI token.

The round was co-led by Republic Crypto and Galaxy Digital with the participation of more than 30 venture funds and individual investors including Sam Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research, Solana Capital and U.S.-based crypto exchange Kraken. 

Chingari's co-founder and CEO Sumit Ghosh said that the token sale is scheduled for Nov. 2 and the mainnet launch and app integration are expected by the end of the month. The platform aims to allow users to obtain tokens for creating or watching content.

“The idea that a lot of people can make a small amount of money and uplift themselves by participating in a social platform is very powerful and Chingari wants to make this vision possible,” the executive said.

The firm found fertile ground for its growth since India banned TikTok earlier this year, leaving a spot for a substitute platform. Chingari claims its user base grew from 100,000 to 50 million people in the six months after the ban.

Image: Anshumaan Vishnu via Wiki Commons