Who co‑founded Telegram alongside Pavel Durov?

Nikolai Durov co-founded Telegram alongside his younger brother, Pavel Durov. The two launched Telegram in 2013, combining Nikolai’s technical and mathematical expertise with Pavel’s leadership, funding, and organizational support.

Before Telegram, the brothers were associated with VK, a major Russian social network. Nikolai is known as a programmer and mathematician and played a central role in developing MTProto, the cryptographic protocol used by Telegram’s messaging system. Pavel became Telegram’s public-facing leader and chief executive.

The brothers’ responsibilities were complementary rather than identical. Nikolai focused heavily on the underlying protocol and engineering, while Pavel helped finance the project and shaped its product direction and business strategy. Telegram later established its operations through entities connected with the British Virgin Islands and Dubai.

A common misconception is that Telegram was founded by Pavel alone because he is the service’s best-known spokesperson. Official histories and biographical references identify both brothers as founders. Nikolai’s role also should not be confused with Pavel’s role as Telegram’s CEO.