Messaging app Telegram has raised another $850 million in the second round of the ICO, bringing the total sum to a world record $1.7 billion, Bloomberg reported.
The first round raised a similar $850 million, with a third round also expected to raise a similar amount. This will bring the total to $2.55 billion even before the public is allowed to participate.
The names of the 94 investors were not disclosed in a document submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission of the USA (SEC).
The company, founded by Russian Pavel Durov, plans to use the ICO proceeds to develop the Telegram Open Network blockchain, which includes the cryptocurrency Gram.
Telegram seeks to offer transaction speeds faster than the Bitcoin (TIKER: BTC.EXANTE) and Ethereum (TIKER: ETH/USD.BITFINEX) blockchains, and may seek to compete with Visa Inc. (TIKER: 3V64.FWB) and Mastercard Inc. (TIKER: M4I.FWB).