Media startup POPxo raises $2.7 million in series-B round
BENGALURU: Kalaari capital backed media startup POPxo has raised $2.7 million (approx Rs 18 crore) in a series-B round led by Japan’s GREE Ventures, along with existing investors Kalaari Capital and IDG Ventures India.
The funds raised are being used for improving product development for featuring news items in different formats and introducing new features that improve interactivity for the end user. According to sources, the company is presently focusing upon breaking even by the end of 2017.
“Among women-centric media startups, POPxo is definitely the one gaining a large amount of traction from women in metros, as well as those in smaller towns. They will focus more on monetisation through brand integration over subscriptions, since the latter doesn’t work well in India but their target is to break even soon,” said the source, on the condition of anonymity.
POPxo has worked with over 150 brands in 2016, ranging from Puma to Lakme and Tanishq. The platform will focus on increasing its brand integration strategy for improving monetisation.
The company has also increased its focus on writers and employees understanding and using data to determine which among the 500 stories that are published on a monthly basis go viral or are read enough, in order to increase the readership base.
ET did not receive any response to an email query sent to a representative of Japanese investment firm GREE Ventures.
The funds raised are being used for improving product development for featuring news items in different formats and introducing new features that improve interactivity for the end user. According to sources, the company is presently focusing upon breaking even by the end of 2017.
“Among women-centric media startups, POPxo is definitely the one gaining a large amount of traction from women in metros, as well as those in smaller towns. They will focus more on monetisation through brand integration over subscriptions, since the latter doesn’t work well in India but their target is to break even soon,” said the source, on the condition of anonymity.
POPxo has worked with over 150 brands in 2016, ranging from Puma to Lakme and Tanishq. The platform will focus on increasing its brand integration strategy for improving monetisation.
The company has also increased its focus on writers and employees understanding and using data to determine which among the 500 stories that are published on a monthly basis go viral or are read enough, in order to increase the readership base.
ET did not receive any response to an email query sent to a representative of Japanese investment firm GREE Ventures.
