Glance, a business unit of Bengaluru-based advertising tech company InMobi Group, on Monday said it has acquired short-video platform Roposo, for an undisclosed amount, to boost its vernacular video content capabilities.
Operated by Gurugram-based Relevant E-Solutions Private Limited, Roposo is backed by investors such as Tiger Global Management and Bertelsmann India Investments.
Glance is an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platform that delivers personalised, ad-free content to the lock screens of smartphones. It comes pre-installed in many Android smartphones and has more than 60 million daily active users.
Entrackr first reported on the acquisition on 20 November, citing sources, and said the deal size is less than $20 million.
In a phone conversation, Naveen Tewari, founder and CEO of InMobi Group said it was a stock and cash deal.
Glance will now have access to Roposo’s network of professional, vernacular content creators and more than 42 million users in India.
It will also own Roposo’s video technology, platform and brand. Founded by IIT Delhi alumni, Roposo’s interface allows users to watch videos in 10 languages, across 24 channels. The acquisition will enable Glance to tap into Roposo’s network of regional influencers and create vernacular video content, a statement from InMobi said.
Tewari said Roposo has around 10,000 professional influencers.
“Glance is a high-quality platform that has professional content on it. It is not a user-generated content platform. So, having access to professionally-generated content is very important to us,” he said.
“We will take Roposo global, as Glance grows globally, especially across South East Asia,” Tewari said, adding that they will use the platform to build communities of professional influencers in global markets as well.
Glance provides content in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, and nearly 60% of its users in India are in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. They spend an average of 22 minutes a day consuming content in a language of their choice, the statement said.
“Most of India wants high-quality video content in vernacular since only 10% of India speaks English,” Tewari said.
“Glance is a disruptive platform and we are very excited to be a part of it,” said Mayank Bhangadia, founder of Roposo, in the statement. “We hope to bring our experience and expertise in the area of short-form video platform to deliver engaging video experiences and make Glance the dominant vernacular video platform in India and the world.”
In September, InMobi had said PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel’s Mithril Capital invested $45 million in Glance. InMobi, Tewari said, continues to be in acquisition mode, to add capabilities to Glance. “One of our strategies is to be very acquisition-oriented. The platform is scaling very fast…that kind of growth can be maintained and managed only if we get capabilities from outside,” he said.
Source: Mint