Hyderabad-based mobile TV company Apalya Technologies Pvt Ltd has raised $7.5 million in its third round of funding, led by IndoUS Venture Partners (IUVP). Existing investors, IDG Ventures India and Qualcomm Ventures, participated in the round.
Apalya will use the funds to expand into international markets, starting with deployments in S.E.Asia this quarter. "Our focus will continue to be on India but we saw many leads coming in from the Middle East, S.E.Asia and Africa and we are going to expand into these regions," said Vamshi Reddy, CEO and Founder, Apalya Technologies.
The company will opt to enter these markets either through local technology firms or will directly partner with the operators. There are no acquisitions on the horizon, said Reddy.
Founded in 2006 by Vamshi Reddy and Shiva Bayyapunedi, Apalya's mobile TV application MiMobi offers rich video streaming of channels on phones. It received seed funding of $0.5 million from Mumbai Angels. In October 2009, IDG Ventures India and Qualcomm Ventures together infused $3 million in Apalya. The company's revenues are at $3-5 million.
It has partnered with 13 Indian telcos including Aircel, Bharti Airtel, BSNL, Idea, MTNL, MTS, Reliance Communications, Tata Indicom, Tata DoCoMo, Virgin Mobile and Vodafone. MiMobi currently offers over 120 TV channels to subscribers of these networks, including premium content from Disney and Sony. It also offers a desktop app for data card users of Tata Photon, Reliance Netconnect and MTS but contribution from broadband users is lower than that from mobile TV users, said Reddy.
In 2010, the company bagged live mobile video streaming rights for the IPL, which helped boost its subscriber base to 4 million, from 1 million in 2009. Apalya also launched with 3G operators, which it expects will further increase its userbase.
The company has developed apps compatible with 'most' of the handsets and OSs available in India, including Google's Android platform and is in the process of revamping its iPhone application which it will launch in 4-5 weeks.
IndoUS Venture Partners recently invested in Hyderabad-based animation firm VenSat Tech Services Pvt Ltd and backs Bangalore-based mobile advertising startup mGinger, Myntra Designs Pvt Ltd, which offers customised gifts and merchandise, Hyderabad-based Pressmart and online B2B travel firm VIA.
