Tech entrepreneur Nikhil Kamath and venture debt fund Stride Ventures have acquired significant minority stakes in Streambox Media, a media-tech venture founded by veteran media executive Anuj Gandhi and backed by Micromax.
The company has not disclosed the exact stakes that they have acquired and the valuation. Micromax owns the majority stake in the company while Gandhi holds a sizeable minority stake.
Streambox is set to introduce a subscription-based connected TV (CTV) service, Dor, besides a made-in-India TV operating system (OS), designed to streamline content discovery and enhance user experience across connected devices.
Kamath highlighted that Streambox addresses the growing challenge of content fragmentation in an increasingly competitive video streaming landscape.
“If you observe the trajectory of content consumption, fragmentation is bound to rise with more platforms, creators, and choices emerging. However, juggling between multiple apps to find the right content is exhausting for users. That’s where I see StreamBox playing a crucial role,” Kamath said.
As the media landscape evolves, smart TVs are rapidly replacing traditional TV sets, with streaming services overtaking linear TV in major cities.
Ishpreet Singh Gandhi, Founder and Managing Partner of Stride Ventures, said Streambox’s TV OS can potentially expand globally. “We will invest strategically over the next 18 months, based on the business’s needs. All partners are committed to ensuring the necessary investments are made,” he said.
Vikas Jain, co-founder of Micromax, expressed optimism about the Dor smart TV’s market entry, forecasting a significant market share in its first year, driven by an affordable device, indigenous OS, and content aggregation.
India’s connected TV households are projected to exceed 100 million by 2027, up from 40 million in 2023, according to Media Partners Asia (MPA).
Streambox Media is entering a competitive space dominated by global tech giants. “We want to unify content from multiple streaming services and personalise it across all screens,” Gandhi said.
