Telegram Founder Tells Tucker Carlson Why Silicon Valley HQ Never Happened: 'I Got Attacked'

Telegram founder Pavel Durov recently disclosed in an interview with Tucker Carlson why he decided against setting up the company’s headquarters in San Francisco.

For Durov, San Francisco was not an option due to concerns over personal safety and excessive attention from U.S. authorities.

The 39-year-old entrepreneur recounted to Carlson an incident where he was assaulted in San Francisco following a meeting with Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey.

“I was in San Francisco when I got attacked after meeting, I think, Jack Dorsey in the Twitter office. I was walking back at 8:00 PM to my hotel when I got attacked,” he said.

Durov recalled that three men tried to snatch his phone. While he managed to resist and escape the attackers, he decided to look for other safer places to set up the headquarters of Telegram.

The company is currently based in Dubai, where strict laws forbid many forms of expression and assembly.

Durov also cited unwanted attention from U.S. authorities, particularly the FBI, as another reason for his decision. He shared an instance where an attempt was made to secretly recruit one of his engineers by cybersecurity officers.

“We got too much attention from the FBI and security agencies,” he stated.

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He further defended his engineer, asserting that there was no reason for him to fabricate the story, as Durov himself had experienced interventions from security agencies.

“I understand they were doing their job it’s just that for us running a privacy focused social media platform that probably wasn’t the best environment to be,” he added.

Despite having nearly a billion users, Telegram operates with a lean team and has raised funds through bond sales and a cryptocurrency project, rather than offloading equity.

Durov’s personal investment in Bitcoin allows him to bootstrap his projects and maintain 100% ownership. This independence and commitment to privacy have helped Telegram gain significant traction, with the platform adding 2.5 million users per day,

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