Get All Access for $5/mo

Chingari Raises $13 Mn In Funding Round Led By OnMobile This investment will allow Chingari to accelerate its growth from 56 million users to over 100 million users

By Prabhjeet Bhatla

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Chingari

Homegrown short-form video app Chingari announced on Thursday that it has raised $13 million in a funding round led by OnMobile.

This investment will allow Chingari to accelerate its growth from 56 million users to over 100 million users.

"We are very excited about this investment and partnership bringing millions of users to the new ONMO gaming service while providing immediate business value and increased user reach for both companies," said François-Charles Sirois, executive chairman, OnMobile.

As part of the deal, OnMobile will integrate and distribute its direct-to-consumer ONMO gaming platform on the Chingari app and collaborate on other product integrations to serve millions of users. Chingari will use the funds to enhance its content portfolio, hire top talent and accelerate its growing user base.

"The Chingari team has built a terrific product with great user retention and growth. ONMO gaming's short format challenges and Chingari's short-form videos complement each other well," remarked Krish Seshadri, chief executive officer, OnMobile.

Other investors who participated in this round include Republic Labs US, Astarc Ventures, White Star Capital, India Tv (Rajat Sharma), JPIN Venture Catalysts Ltd, ProfitBoard Ventures, Raghunandan G of Zolve (co-founder, Taxi4sure), and some family office funds from the UK.

"We couldn't have hoped for a better partner than OnMobile and Krish to help Chingari embody its vision and become a content super media app for Bharat, and help engage the Billion Indians. With our visions aligned, this partnership promises to be a winning collaboration," commented Sumit Ghosh, co-founder, and chief executive officer, Chingari.

Chingari that started off as a short-form video app, has now positioned itself as a content media super app for Bharat. Chingari not only offers short-form videos, but has carved its niche by also introducing Chingari Multiplex, and the first one in India to introduce Social Video Commerce. Now, With the strategic partnership of OnMobile, Chingari would also be introducing gaming within the app, the company shared.

"We are thrilled to have Krish join our board at Chingari. His vast experience on working with various products like Facebook, Zynga, and many others adds great value to the team and the platform," added Aditya Kothari, co-founder, and chief strategy officer, Chingari.

Earlier last year Chingari had raised $1.4 million from a series of Angels, including Jasminder Gulati, FJ Labs (Fabrice Grinda), Angelist, Utsav Somani's iSeed, Village Global, and Blume Founders Fund.

Prabhjeet Bhatla

Former Staff

Business News

Y Combinator Helped Launch Reddit, Airbnb and Dropbox. Here's What I Learned From Its Free Startup School.

The famed startup accelerator offers a free course on building a business — and answers five pressing questions for founders.

Science & Technology

Why We Shouldn't Fear AI in Education (and How to Use It Effectively)

Facing resistance to new technologies in the educational process is nothing new, and AI is no exception. Yet, this powerful tool is set to overcome these challenges and revolutionize education, preparing students and professionals for a future of unparalleled efficiency and personalized learning.

Green Entrepreneur®

6 Ways to Profitably Integrate Eco-Friendly Practices into Your Business

Sustainability efforts can improve operational efficiency, increase customer demand and boost profitability. Here, we highlight six easy ways entrepreneurs and small businesses can capture the financial benefits of sustainability.

Business News

A Former Corporate Lawyer Now Makes Six Figures on YouTube — Here's How She Does It

Here are the secrets to starting and growing a successful YouTube channel, according to a YouTuber with millions of subscribers.

Business Culture

You'll Always Have Anxious Employees if You Don't Follow These 4 Leadership Tactics

Creating a thriving workplace environment hinges on the commitment of company leaders to nurture and inspire their teams.