TagMango Pvt. Ltd, a startup that helps content creators develop monetisation channels, has raised Rs 5.5 crore (nearly $750,000 at current exchange rates) in a seed funding round.
Participants in this round include Y Combinator, Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin, XRM Media, the Pioneer Fund, and angel investors from the US and the United Arab Emirates, Kolkata-based TagMango said in a statement.
The startup was set up last year by Mohammad Hasan and Divyanshu Damani. It was part of Y Combinator’s 2020 cohort.
It says its aim is to scale the content creator ecosystem in the country by giving them access to monetisation channels for building a sustainable business. Tools that it provides include exclusive content options across various mediums, one-on-one sessions with creators and community hangouts.
It will use the capital it has raised to enhance its technological infrastructure as well as expand its creator base on Tier-II and Tier-III cities, the two co-founders said.
“They’ve [Hasan and Damani] created a flexible platform for creators of India to explore more personalized avenues to make a living based on each creator’s unique relationship with their community,” Lin said.
Late last month, Lin said he would leave Twitch. The Amazon-owned video game streaming platform’s success has spawned a whole host of competitors, with Indian startups also joining in the fray.
TagMango says it has already brought on board more than 3,000 creators in its soft launch period, with about 50 of them having a following of over one million people across social media platforms.
The investment in the company is also representative of the rising investor interest in the larger influencer and creator ecosystem in the country. For brands, these individuals and their sub-niches represent strong marketing opportunities, giving startups in the space strong leverage with respect to valuations and revenue potential.
So far, companies in the social commerce and short video such as Meesho, Trell and WMall have received large cheques from domestic and foreign backers. Gaming platforms such as Tamasha and Rheo have also secured capital in the past year.