Hyperlocal content platform Lokal said Tuesday it has raised Rs 120 crore ($14.7 million) from Global Brain Corporation and Sony Innovation Fund in a Series B round.
Venture capital firm India Quotient and other existing investors also participated in the round, Lokal said in a statement.
The Y Combinator-backed startup aims to use the fresh capital to grow in existing markets, launch new categories and product capabilities, and strengthen its product and technology teams, it said.
“This funding round will be instrumental in accelerating our growth and getting us closer to fulfilling our vision of simplifying our users' lives by enabling them to use the Internet more meaningfully,” said Jani Pasha, founder and chief executive, Lokal.
The latest round takes Lokal’s total capital-raise by far to over Rs 225 crore.
“Lokal is building that application layer which unlocks the true potential for millions of Indians through a hyperlocal platform for content, community and classifieds,” said Anjani Bansal, Partner and India country head at Global Brain, a Tokyo-headquartered venture capital firm.
Gen Tsuchikawa, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Sony Ventures Corporation, said growth in the non-English speaking population’s usage of internet-based services will create the need for alternative social platforms like Lokal.
Lokal was founded by Pasha and Vipul Chaudhary in 2018. In late 2019, it raised $3 million from Indian VC firm 3one4 Capital, India Quotient and other investors. It secured $12 million in a Series A round in late 2021, according to media reports at the time.
The Bengaluru-based startups says its app has recorded more than 40 million downloads in over 180 districts in the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Gujarat.
The app is available in six languages and helps its users, primarily in smaller towns and cities, with information such as commodity prices, local jobs, real estate, matrimonial, local business advertorials, and classifieds that would otherwise be scattered across local newspapers in vernacular languages.
