Magfi raises $1.1M seed to scale chat-based ads on Telegram and Discord

What's the deal? MagfiDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Turkish SaaS startup that uses AI and machine learning to place advertising across Telegram and Discord communities, has raised $1.1M in seed funding. Bulgarian fund Eleven VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → — known for backing unicorns like Payhawk — led the round. Eleven Ventures partner Svetozar Georgiev will join Magfi's board.

The platform lets advertisers target relevant groups within chat-based communities, while giving group owners a way to monetise their channels without chasing sponsors manually. Nearly 1.5 billion people use Telegram and Discord each month, but until now there has been no scalable advertising infrastructure for these platforms.

Why now? Magfi has built real traction fast. The startup has served over a million ads across channels covering sports, finance, gaming, and news, reaching 600,000 unique users daily. In just one year since its pre-seed round, it has multiplied its initial revenue by 25x.

Its client base already includes major Turkish banks, international e-commerce platforms, and advertising agencies. "Advertising on decentralised chat-based communities is a Blue Ocean market, where Magfi has a head start," Georgiev said.

What could go wrong? Chat-based advertising is uncharted territory. Unlike traditional social media, where ad formats and user expectations are well established, group chats are more personal and community-driven — meaning poorly targeted or intrusive ads could trigger backlash from users and group owners alike.

There's also the question of platform risk. Magfi depends entirely on Telegram, Discord, and WhatsApp (in beta), none of which it controls. Policy changes or restrictions from any of these platforms could disrupt the business overnight.

The signal: Eleven Ventures' bet on Magfi underscores a broader thesis that ad infrastructure for chat-based platforms is an underdeveloped frontier. With the early-growth-stage company already demonstrating 25x revenue growth in a single year, the investment signals confidence that messaging communities can support a scalable ad layer — much as social feeds did a decade ago. If Magfi's expansion into Brazil succeeds, it could validate chat-based advertising as a viable category well beyond its Turkish home market.

Read more: startuprise.org