Pepper Content Pvt. Ltd, which runs a content writing and services platform, has raised Rs 2.2 crore (approximately $306,823 at current exchange rates) as part of its seed funding from a clutch of investors.
The investors include Titan Capital, the fund launched by Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal, Pepper co-founder Anirudh Singla said in a tweet.
Others that participated in the round include former Nasscom chairperson Saurabh Srivastava, Slideshare co-founder Amit Ranjan, news platform YourStory Media and Indifi co-founder Alok Mittal, according to a company statement.
Dentsu Webchutney chairman Sidharth Rao, Innov8 co-founder Ritesh Malik, Agilio Labs CEO Sanjay Tripathi, WYSH co-founder Manan Maheshwari, and Diabeto co-founder Hemanshu Jain also participated in the funding round.
The Mumbai-based company said it will use the funds to expand its team and enhance its technological infrastructure. “A strong wave in the Indian content ecosystem is coming and we believe Pepper will be positioned best to answer well to the same,” Singla said.
Singla co-founded Pepper in 2017 along with Rishabh Shekhar. The startup functions as an online marketplace that services the content requirements of companies. It leverages freelance writers on its platform to deliver content pieces including blogs, research articles, and press releases, among others. It is also planning to venture into design and other content formats.
Pepper currently claims to have onboarded and used the services of over 25,000 writers for assignments from over 250 clients. These include Swiggy, InfoEdge, BookMyShow, Bharat Matrimony, and Simplilearn. It is aiming to partner with at least 1,000 businesses and on-board more than two lakh content creators over the next 18 months.
