Knocksense Media Services Pvt. Ltd, a local news discovery and distribution platform, has raised capital from Mumbai Angels Network.
The Lucknow-based company will use the funds to strengthen its tech platform and create a content bank for new geographies launch, Knocksense said in a statement. However, it did not disclose the amount it raised.
“Raising funds through Mumbai Angels during COVID - 19 has given us confidence and has validated our position to be India’s only non-political, non-divisive news platform,” Vibhore Mayank, co-founder at Knocksense, said.
Vibhore, an alumnus of Whistling Woods International, launched the company along with his brother Varul Mayank in November 2016. Varul, an Amity School of Journalism graduate, was in the past associated with Hindustan Times.
The company covers news in certain categories such as development, social and health campaigns, F&B events, environment, travel and sports activities. It has currently presence in Mumbai, Lucknow, Kanpur, Goa, Indore and Jaipur.
“I belong to the event industry and I know the need for brand messaging in smaller cities, hence the business model of Knocksense attracted me to invest. The huge scale is a possibility, they are sustaining and expanding since 2016,” Navin Talreja, an investor at Mumbai Angels Network, said.
Other startups in the space that have raised funding in recent months include Dailyhunt, Indian Angel Network-backed PublicVibe, and Y Combinator and 3one4 Capital-backed Lokal.
Ver Se Innovation Pvt. Ltd, which operates online news and content platform Dailyhunt, has raised $35.6 million as part of its Series G funding last month.
The round was led by Lupa Systems, a private investment company led by James Murdoch, son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch
In August last year, vernacular social networking platform ShareChat raised $100 million (around Rs 715 crore) in its Series D funding round. The exercise was led by social media giant Twitter, with participation from TrustBridge Partners, Shunwei Capital and Lightspeed Venture Partners, among others.
Mumbai Angels Network
The angel investment group was established in 2006 and says it has over 400 members across chapters in cities including Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata. The group says it has over 140 companies in its portfolio and claims more than 45 exits with a cumulative investment of over Rs 150 crore.
According to VCCEdge, the data research arm of Mosaic Digital, some of the companies in its portfolio include CarterPorter Pvt. Ltd, Dhruva Space Pvt. Ltd and Leadstart Publishing Pvt. Ltd.
Last month, it invested in Tecso Charge Zone Pvt. Ltd, which operates an electric vehicle (EV) charging startup Charge+Zone.
In April, it invested in Arcis Clean Energy Pvt. Ltd, which operates an electric-vehicle based travel tourism platform, BLive. At the end of January, Mumbai Angels Network took part in a $3 million (around Rs 21.40 crore) pre-Series A funding round in advertising-technology startup Adonmo Pvt. Ltd. The round was led by the Ant Financial-backed BAce Capital.