Regional language OTT platform Stage has raised $12.5 million (Rs 107.4 crore) in a Series B funding round, the company said on Friday.
Delhi-based startup Stage Technologies Pvt Ltd, which operates the platform, said the funding round was led by Goodwater Capital and Blume Ventures, with participation from Physis Capital and other angel investors.
Stage, which currently offers content in Haryanvi and Rajasthani, said it will now offer content in Bhojpuri as well. It plans to use the funding to expand its content offerings in additional regional languages while strengthening its current portfolio, it said.
Founded in 2019 by Vinay Singhal, Parveen Singhal, Shashank Vaishnav, and Harsh Mani Tripathi, Stage claims to have over 390 hours of Haryanvi content and more than 183 hours of Rajasthani content.
The company’s cap table includes investors such as Better Capital, Inflection Point Ventures (IPV), Mumbai Angels, Lets Venture Fund, and Long Tail Ventures, among others.
Stage said it has seen impressive growth, with a 286% increase in subscriber numbers, driven by its original shows like Videshi Bahu and Kaand 2010 in Haryanvi, and Bhawani in Rajasthani. Further, it said it has achieved an annual recurring revenue of Rs 180 crore, 4.4 million paying households, and over 20 million app installs across app stores.
"To see it bloom to 15 crore a month, when skeptics said no one will pay or watch this as primary content, is very satisfying," said Karthik Reddy, partner at Blume.
For the year ended 2024, the company's revenue from operations surged more than sixfold to Rs 17.9 crore from Rs 2.8 crore in the previous year, according to VCCEdge, the data research platform of VCCircle.
