Rusk Media Pvt Ltd, a digital media company focussed on creating content for millennials and ‘Generation Z’ audiences, has raised funding from investors including InfoEdge Venture Fund and Sprout Venture Partners.
Rusk Media said in a statement that another institutional investor has taken part in the funding, but did not disclose the identity of the investor. It also did not disclose the total amount raised.
The New Delhi-based company said it will use the funds to enhance video production and custom content infrastructure.
Meanwhile, in a stock exchange filing, internet services company Info Edge (India) Ltd, which operates InfoEdge Venture Fund, said it has agreed to invest Rs 3.5 crore (approximately $462,779 at current exchange rates) in Rusk Media for a 10% stake on a fully converted and diluted basis.
Rusk Media began operations in May last year. The company says it currently owns four brands – Alright, Hattke, Recharge and LIT – and that its content has been able to achieve 300 million monthly views across platforms including YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.
The company says it is aiming to gain one billion monthly for its content by the end of 2020, and one in three digital video viewers by 2021.
It currently has a staff strength of 100 and has worked with advertisers including Ab-InBev, Dominos, Kingfisher, and consumer goods giant P&G. It provides both in-video and native advertising.
Investors
The investment in Rusk Media marks the latest bet for the InfoEdge Venture Fund, as well as Info Edge, which has made several investments to increase its presence in the fast-growing internet services industry.
The Rs 100 crore IE Venture Fund I invest in companies that provide technology to create, market and distribute products and services. The typical sweet spot of the fund is said to be between $500,000 and $5 million, though it may also invest outside this range.
Some of its recent bets include e-sports platform Fanclash and telehealth platform Truemeds, education services firm Univariety, and learning platform CodingNinjas.
Sprout Venture Partners, meanwhile, is an early- and seed-stage venture fund. Its initial and follow-up investments are usually in the range of Rs 50 lakh to Rs 5 crore.
Some of its recent investments were in online womenswear firm Fashor and logistics-technology firm Ripplr. In the past, it had backed startups such as fraud detection fintech AdvaRisk, health and fitness app Fitso, fintech startup Healthfin and human resources technology startup Advantage Club.
In January this year, VCCircle reported that Sprout Venture Partners had also backed a startup operating in the ayurvedic products space.