Mumbai-based digital entertainment content platform MissMalini has raised ₹10.4 crores in pre-series A funding led by Orios Venture Partners and New Enterprise Associates.
The funds raised will be used to strengthen its position in the market by building community, as it expands content, technology, and sales operations.
MissMalini was founded by Malini Agarwal as a blog in 2008. The blog has since then expanded into a multi-platform media network, reaching 40 million people every month. It creates millennial-focused content across various platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The platform is looking to launch its next TV show in a direct-to-consumer or OTT (over-the-top) format.
Talking about the investment, Rehan Yar Khan, managing partner at Orios Venture Partners, said, “Digital entertainment is a booming industry, riding on the back of a large emerging market. Within this, MissMalini has established itself as a content platform that is already monetising along with content driven by a personality. That differentiates it from some of the other offerings in the space and puts it in a stronger position.”
The platform is looking to create full-service integrated video production units as it prepares to launch vernacular content across all its current and new engagement platforms.
The digital content platform has seen a significant revenue growth in the FY19, growing at 2-3 times, and is also anticipating a sharp rise in its user base.
MissMalini last raised funds from a clutch of angel investors including Rajan Anandan, VP and MD of Google India.
Other players competing with MissMalini in the digital content space include FilterCopy, TVF, ScoopWhoop, AIB, POPxo, among many others.
With the growth of vernacular users in the country, content platforms are expected to focus more on the vernacular content, to penetrate the growing Indian market.