Chinese tech giant Tencent has spearheaded series C round amounting to INR 76 crore in vernacular publishing platform Pratilipi. According to reports, the round is not concluded yet and the company may raise more capital as part of this round in the coming time.
Existing investors Omidyar Network, Shunwei Capital and Nexus Venture Partners also contributed funds to the round.
Following is the funding breakup as per the latest regulatory filings filed by Pratilipi. Tencent’s European investment arm contributed Rs 57.41 Crore while Chinese investor Shunwei Capital invested Rs 4.31 crore. On other hand, Omidyar Network and Nexus Venture Partners infused Rs 4.31 crore and Rs 1.8 crore respectively.
Bennett Coleman and Company Limited (BCCL), which is a new investor in the company, poured INR 1.8 crore in the startup.
Pratilipi – a vernacular digital platform for Indian masses
Pratilipi is a self-publishing digital platform that aims to bring interesting content for Indian masses in their own native languages. The platform allows writers to publish stories and articles in 12 different Indian languages.
Pratilipi’s users can discover stories, poems, articles, magazines, novels etc. They can read and enjoy these contents absolutely free of cost. Pratilipi app is available for download on IOS as well as android devices.
According to the claim made by the company’s official website, it has collaborated with more than 1 lakh writers, boasts 7.2 Mn readers, and has thousands of stories on its platforms.
Last year, the self-publishing platform raised Rs 105 crore in a Series B round that was led by Chinese investor Qiming Venture Partners. Previous to this round, it raised the first funding round in February 2018.
With the growing penetration of internet in India’s hinterland, the untapped demand for vernacular digital platforms is really huge. Not surprisingly, similar digital platforms like Sharechat and Helo have witnessed a huge surge in their demand over the years.