Tag: Digital Media Platform

  • Inshorts: Exceptional Circulation and Its Rapid News Model

    Data and information are two key concepts in the modern world. Data is raw, unprocessed facts or figures that can be collected from various sources. Information, on the other hand, is data that has been processed and organized into a meaningful form. Both data and information play an important role in decision-making processes across industries as they help organizations make more informed decisions to drive their business forward.

    In today’s society, original news is more important than ever. With the rise of social media and other digital platforms, it can be hard to tell what information is true or not. Fake news has become a major problem in recent years, resulting in confusion and distrust among readers. This makes it even more vital that people are able to access reliable sources of original news and analysis.

    Original news stories provide an unbiased look at current events with accurate facts and reporting. It allows for a greater understanding of the issues being discussed by providing background information on topics and giving both sides of an argument equal coverage. In addition, these stories often feature interviews with experts who can help explain complex concepts in easy-to-understand language. Without original news people and society at large can go directionless.

    This generation can also be more easily distracted by technology, with the average attention span now being 8 seconds. To counter this, it is important to create content that is concise and engaging. This could include using shorter sentences, breaking up long paragraphs into smaller blocks of text, or creating visuals such as infographics or videos to help break up information and keep people engaged.

    Additionally, providing interactive elements such as quizzes or polls can also help maintain attention spans. News in this format can be a game-changing business, and there exists one business that does exactly the same. Inshorts is an Indian news app that does the same. They have been growing with good numbers. Let us see how they are able to do this. This article talks about Inshorts, their rage, and the reason behind the growth.

    About Inshorts
    The Famous Inshorts App
    Technical Facts About Inshorts
    User Psychology
    Reasons Behind Inshorts Success

    About Inshorts

    Inshorts is an Indian news and content discovery platform founded by Azhar Iqubal, Anunay Arunav, and Deepit Purkayastha. Iqubal is all set to be the new judge in Shark Tank India, season 3.

    Inshorts was launched in 2013 with the aim of providing short, crisp, and relevant news to its users. The company, which is based in Noida, serves over 30 million monthly active users and has been backed by investors such as Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital. Inshorts was started in 2013 and was just a Facebook page to provide news in a snakebite format. By the end of their first month, the page had a little over 20K followers. Now their app distills news stories into 60-word summaries.

    It offers a personalized news feed where users can choose topics and sources of news they are interested in. It also offers an AI-powered news feed that provides news stories according to the user’s reading patterns. Inshorts offers news from a range of topics including politics, business, sports, entertainment, and technology. It also provides an in-app video channel, ‘Inshorts TV’, which has news stories from multiple sources.

    Traffic and Engagement in the Last Three Months of 2023
    Traffic and Engagement in the Last Three Months of 2023

    Inshorts is the all-new ultimate news reading experience, delivering users with a quote to spark thought and expand their knowledge. With information on current affairs, politics, business news, and more at their fingertips, Inshorts actively engages with its readers as it summarises long-form stories for convenience. Going beyond mere scanning of articles through catchy video clips and exciting quizzes, this one-of-a-kind platform offers an extraordinary insight into an ever-evolving world – in just 60 words!

    The Famous Inshorts App

    Inshorts has since grown to become India’s largest news platform with over 25 million users. It has been awarded a number of accolades, including being named the best news app by Google Play in 2018. Inshorts has become popular for its unique format which allows users to catch up on the latest news in a matter of minutes. By condensing news stories into 60 words, the app ensures that users can stay informed without having to spend hours reading long articles.

    The app provides users with a range of personalization options, such as selecting their preferred sources and topics, which helps them filter out news stories that do not interest them. In addition to its personalization options, Inshorts also provides a range of features to make it easier to stay informed. These features include a daily digest, which sends users a summary of the top stories of the day, as well as a ‘trending’ section that highlights the most popular stories from the past 24 hours. The app also offers a range of news categories, such as politics, sports, and entertainment, which makes it easier for users to find stories that interest them. Inshorts has become a popular news platform for many users due to its unique format, personalization options, and range of features.

    By providing users with a quick and easy way to stay informed, the app has become a go-to source for news in India. It currently has more than 20 million app downloads. The app wears a crown with a monthly active user base of more than 60 million. Out of them, more than 60% user base is in the age group of 18 to 35.

    Inshorts - Audience Demographics and Age Distribution
    Inshorts – Audience Demographics and Age Distribution

    The Inshorts app is as fun and interactive as it is exciting! Focusing on bite-sized mobile news coverage of current events, Inshorts makes staying informed quick and easily digestible. By serving content in the form of summaries, videos, and infographics, users can quickly swerve from story to story with a few taps of their fingers.

    It can also be used to promote products or services. Examples of news and short-form content include blog posts, tweets, news stories, infographics, and podcast episodes. The advantage of news and short-form content is that it can be more quickly read, watched, or listened to than long-form content. It can also be used to quickly and efficiently convey information or messages to a large audience. Additionally, it can be used to create interest and engagement around a topic or brand. Finally, it can be used to drive traffic to websites and other platforms.

    Technical Facts About Inshorts

    Developing for Inshorts includes working with both Android & iOS integrated languages such as Java & Swift, along with their own back-end APIs for a communication interface between its many components. Plus, implementing real-time analytics provides invaluable metrics to measure user engagement, thus allowing the company to remain prepared and conscious of what’s popular amongst readers of the news.

    The app also has a ‘Share’ feature where users can share stories with their friends and family. In addition to its news offerings, Inshorts also offers features such as ‘Inshorts Picks’ which curates stories from various sources, ‘Top Stories’ which shows trending stories in India, and ‘Today’s Headlines’ which offers a list of the top stories of the day. All these muscles work behind the scenes and make an impact on the lives of many people who stay up-to-date with the latest news through its platform!

    Inshorts App
    Inshorts App 

    The app also has an ‘Explore’ section which allows users to search for and follow topics of their interest. It also has a ‘Bookmark’ feature which allows users to save articles for later reading. Inshorts recently launched a ‘Breaking News’ section which provides breaking news alerts. Inshorts has over 10 million downloads on the Google Play Store and is available in 10 languages. It also has a website where users can access news stories.

    Inshorts was recently in the news for its successful fundraising round. It raised $35 million from Tiger Global Management and other investors, taking its total funding to $100 million. The app has been praised for its simple and intuitive user interface. It has also been lauded for its efforts to make news more accessible to users. Overall, Inshorts is an innovative platform that is changing the way we consume news. It is making news more accessible and is helping users stay informed about the latest developments in India and around the world.


    Inshorts Startup Story – Business Model, Revenue Model, Competitors and more
    Inshorts is an mobile news application that offers news stories summarised in 60 words or less. Lets look at its business model, revenue model and more.


    User Psychology

    User psychology is an important factor in digital products, understanding how their users think and interact with a product. Proper user research helps to create an experience tailored to their needs and ensures customers remain loyal. It broadens the overall user experience by identifying factors, such as perceived functionality, usability, system performance, and aesthetics, which are essential for delivering value. By accounting for these elements designers can create solutions that are not only aesthetically appealing but offer meaningful experiences through meaningful interactions that make sense to use. User psychology should also inform product road maps as it can help in planning out feature development cycles, enabling a better overall user experience.

    A peek into the minds at Inshorts

    Reasons Behind Inshorts Success

    The app has grown tremendously over the past few years and now enjoys a considerable user base across India. In this article, we will discuss some of the key reasons for its success.

    Unique Concept

    One of the primary reasons for Inshorts’ success is its unique concept of providing short news summaries to readers. The idea was revolutionary at a time when most people were used to consuming long articles on their mobile devices or computers. This innovation allowed users to consume news quickly and easily, making it more accessible to a wider audience.

    Effective Distribution Strategy

    Another important factor in Inshorts’ success is its effective distribution strategy. The app is available on both Android and iOS platforms as well as on the web, allowing users to access news summaries anytime, anywhere. In addition, the company has also partnered with several mobile operators to make its content available through their networks.

    Quality Content

    Inshorts also offers high-quality content that is updated regularly by a team of dedicated editors who curate news stories from leading newspapers and magazines. This ensures that readers get only accurate information which helps them stay informed about current affairs without having to read long articles or watch lengthy videos.

    Engaging User Experience

    Inshorts also offers an engaging user experience. The app has a simple and intuitive interface that makes it easy to navigate and find the news summaries one is interested in. Additionally, users can customize their feeds by selecting topics they are interested in or following specific authors whose work they enjoy reading. This helps make the experience more personalized for each individual user.

    Effective Revenue Model

    Last but not least, Inshorts has implemented an effective revenue model that allows it to generate revenue while providing its services free of cost to users. It does this by displaying ads on its platform as well as through partnerships with other brands and companies who use its content for marketing purposes. These are some of the key reasons for Inshorts’ success. The company has managed to capture a large user base by providing a unique and innovative news summarization service that is easily accessible, offers high-quality content, provides an engaging user experience, and has an effective monetization model in place.


    The Unique Yet Effective Marking Strategies of Inshorts
    Inshorts is a mobile news app that summarizes and presents news in less than 60 words. Here’s a look at its marketing strategies.


    Conclusion

    Inshorts is a popular news app that provides users with short summaries or ‘Inshorts’ of daily news stories. The app has become incredibly popular due to its user-friendly interface, easy navigation, and comprehensive coverage of the latest news from all over the world. Additionally, Inshorts also offers personalized recommendations based on user’s interests and preferences, helping them stay up to date with the latest developments in their areas of interest.

    The future of Inshorts looks bright, as the company continues to focus on delivering concise, easily digestible news content to its users. In the coming years, Inshorts is likely to expand its reach and technology to become a leader in the news aggregation and delivery space.

    FAQ

    What kind of app is Inshorts?

    Inshorts is an aggregator app that summarizes news articles in 60 words and covers a wide range of topics, including tech and business.

    Why is Inshorts successful?

    Inshorts generates revenues as a content aggregator by driving users to publishers’ websites and also through advertising commissions.

    Who is the CEO of Inshorts?

    Azhar Iqubal is the co-founder and CEO of Inshorts. He was named ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ in the media category at the Entrepreneur Awards 2022 organized by Entrepreneur India magazine. Azhar is also all set to be the new judge in the Shark Tank India, season 3.

    Is Inshorts a social media?

    Inshorts is a news aggregation app that lets users summarise news in 60 words. The latest addition to its portfolio – the Public app – is a local social app that provides users with videos about the places they live in.

  • VerSe Innovation – Story of the Parent Company of Dailyhunt and Josh

    Company Profile is an initiative by StartupTalky to publish verified information on different startups and organizations. The content in this post has been approved by VerSe Innovation.

    The evolution of technology has given rise to many modern innovations. With the introduction of TVs in 1959 and mobile phones in 1995 in India, there has been an enormous growth happening in the field of communication and entertainment. Particularly, the growth of mobile phones is unbelievable in the country. According to a report by Deloitte, India is expected to have 1 billion smartphone users by 2026.

    With this medium growing, the elements (content and programs) for entertainment and communication have also started to evolve. Earlier, we listened to the news readers reading some selected news in a particular time slot. Today we get to choose what, when and where to read. The news reaches us more quickly in a short and crispy manner. Knowing the pacing world and people’s lack of time, even the entertainment industry has started making changes accordingly.

    VerSe is one of those companies that has adapted itself to the haste of the world. It is the parent company of the popular news application ‘Dailyhunt’ and the short video platform ‘Josh’. This tech platform offers content and videos in many local languages to keep its users updated and entertained. The article below speaks about the growth, funding and success story of VerSe Innovation Pvt Ltd.

    VerSe Innovation – Company Highlights

    Company Name VerSe Innovation Pvt Ltd
    Industry Media and Entertainment
    Headquarters Bengaluru, Karnataka
    Founders Virendra Gupta, Umang Bedi, Shailendra Sharma
    Founded 2007
    Company Valuation $5 billion+
    Website verse.in

    VerSe Innovation – About
    VerSe Innovation – Founders and Team
    VerSe Innovation – Startup Story
    VerSe Innovation – Mission and Vision
    VerSe Innovation – Business and Revenue Model
    VerSe Innovation – Funding and Investors
    VerSe Innovation – Mergers and Acquisitions
    VerSe Innovation – Growth
    VerSe Innovation – Competitors
    VerSe Innovation – Future Plans

    VerSe Innovation Founders discussing fund raising

    VerSe Innovation – About

    VerSe Innovation is a technology platform that offers its users to consume information and socialize with their community and media. Started as a Value Added Service (VAS) platform in 2007, VerSe Innovation started to flourish after the acquisition of Newshunt (Dailyhunt) in 2011. Later, in 2020, the company launched a new short video app called Josh which became an instant and tremendous hit.

    Virendra Gupta, Shailendra Sharma and Umang Bedi are the co-founders of VerSe Innovation. The company’s headquarters is situated in Bengaluru, Karnataka. This platform has over 350 million users as of today. Its services (both Dailyhunt and Josh) are available in 14 Indian Languages.

    VerSe Innovation – Founders and Team

    Virendra Gupta and Umang Bedi - VerSe Innovation Founders
    Virendra Gupta and Umang Bedi – VerSe Innovation Founders

    VerSe Innovation Pvt Ltd. was founded in 2007 and has three co-founders. It was founded by Virendra Gupta, Umang Bedi, and Shailendra Sharma.

    Virendra Gupta

    Virendra Gupta is the founder of VerSe Innovation and Dailyhunt. He also serves as the CEO of Dailyhunt. Before founding VerSe, Virendra Gupta worked in various companies namely, BPL Mobile, On mobile, Bharti Cellular Ltd. and Trilogy. He graduated with a master’s in Management from IIT Bombay – Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management.

    Umang Bedi

    Umang Bedi is the co-founder at VerSe Innovation Pvt Ltd. He graduated in engineering from Pune University and did a Management Program at Harvard Business School. Umang Bedi worked in various big tech companies before joining VerSe Innovation. He earlier worked in Satyam Computer Services, Wipro Corporation, Sun Microsystems Inc. and Symantec Corporation. He also served as the Managing Director of Intuit Inc, Adobe (South Asia) and Facebook (India & South Asia). Bedi currently serves as the Statutory Board Member of Goals 101 in addition to VerSe Innovation.

    Shailendra Sharma

    Shailendra Sharma is another co-founder at VerSe Innovation Pvt Ltd. He also served as the Senior Vice President of Engineering at Dailyhunt. Earlier, he also worked in Tata Research and Development Center, Persistent Systems Pvt Ltd and Trilogy.

    Sandip Basu

    Sandip Basu is the Chief Financial Officer at VerSe Innovation who was recently appointed in January 2022. He is a qualified Chartered Accountant and Cost Accountant from the respective institutes. He worked in Bharti Airtel as its CFO for 5 years until 1997. Sandip Basu served as the CEO of several companies between 1997 and 2015 namely, BPL Mobile communications Ltd, Xcel Telecom Pvt Ltd and Loop Mobile India Pvt Ltd.

    Bapu Kota

    Bapu Kota is currently the Senior Vice President of Engineering at VerSe Innovation. He earlier served as the Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Dailyhunt. Bapu Kota graduated M.Tech (Production Engineering) from IIT Bombay in 1996. He was once the Senior Director at Yahoo and AOL.

    VerSe Innovation currently has a team of around 501-1000 employees.

    VerSe Innovation – Startup Story

    VerSe Innovation Logo
    VerSe Innovation Logo

    When VerSe Innovation was founded in 2007, it commenced its business operation as a B2B company. It was assisting telecom companies in the process of sending SMS alerts, notifying subscribers for newsletters, matrimonial sites, etc., This business went on for around three years. Later, in 2011, the founders decided to acquire Eterno Infotech, which used to run Dailyhunt (earlier Newshunt) from Umesh Kulkarni and Chandrashekhar Sohoni. Newshunt was later rebranded after 4 years and made Dailyhunt. This marked the company’s foray into the B2C market, the real business and growth of VerSe Innovation began only then.

    VerSe Innovation – Mission and Vision

    “To learn and define the real principles of inclusive and empowering technologies that seek to bridge the divide across class, culture, language and geography” – VerSe Innovation

    It is the guiding principle with which VerSe Innovation functions. The company wants to empower the nation digitally and eliminate the language barriers. It wanted its platform to be accessible by everyone.

    VerSe Innovation’s vision is “To create the world’s largest, most inclusive platform for content creators and audiences.” The company utilizes every inch of technological advancements to enhance and broaden its platform. VerSe’s investments and expansion plans reveal its steady growth towards its vision.

    VerSe Innovation – Business and Revenue Model

    VerSe Innovation offers content to users in their local language. It provides short and authenticated content through its platform to keep the viewer entertained and informed. The company generates revenue from the ads displayed on its apps and sites. VerSe also makes revenue often from tie-ups made with some businesses on its platform.

    VerSe Innovation – Funding and Investors

    VerSe Innovation has received 23 investments from various investors through multiple funding rounds. With the recent funding in April 2022, VerSe Innovation’s total valuation has reached $5 billion. Here is the list of all the funding received by the company:

    Date Round Money Investors
    April 6, 2022 Series J $805 million Sumeru Ventures, Google, Meta, CPP Investments, Sofina, Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan, Luxor Capital Group, Baillie Gifford
    January 21, 2022 Series I $27 million CPP Investments
    August 12, 2021 Series I $431 million Sofina, Siguler Guff & Company, Qatar Investment Authority, Carlyle Global Partners, B Capital Group, Baillie Gifford
    February 8, 2021 Series H $100 million Sofina, Qatar Investment Authority, Glade Brook Capital Partners, Canaan Valley Capital
    December 22, 2020 Series H $100 million Sofina, Microsoft, Lupa Systems, Google, Alphawave Group, Alpha Wave Global
    November 24, 2020 Series H $10 million B Capital Group
    May 1, 2020 Series G $34.7 million Lupa Systems
    April 24, 2020 Series G $490K Sofina
    April 18, 2020 Series G $23 million Goldman Sachs, Alpha Wave Global, Sofina, ByteDance, Advent Capital Management LLC
    November 1, 2019 Corporate Round ByteDance
    August 8, 2019 Series F $2.7 million Goldman Sachs
    May 15, 2019 Series F $22 million Sofina
    May 5, 2019 Series F $ 35 million Goldman Sachs
    January 18, 2019 Series E $3.2 million Sequoia Capital India, Omidyar Network, Renu Sehgal Trust, InnoVen Capital
    September 3, 2018 Series E $6 million Alpha Wave Global
    October 15, 2016 Series D $25 million Sequoia Capital India, Omidyar Network, Matrix Partners, Falcon Capital, ByteDance, Arun Sarin
    February 6, 2015 Series C $40 million Sequoia Capital India, Omidyar Network, Matrix Partners, Alpha Wave Global
    September 22, 2014 Series B $13 million Sequoia Capital India, Omidyar Network, Matrix Partners
    February 7, 2011 Unknown Rs 286 million
    July 31, 2010 Unknown Rs 111 million
    September 29, 2009 Unknown Rs 30 million
    January 1, 2009 Unknown Rs 200 million Matrix Partners India
    July 1, 2007 Seed Rs 22 million OnMobile

    Sofina, Bytedance, Matrix Partners, Sequoia, Goldman Sachs, Alpha Wava Global were among some of the lead investors of VerSe, until Bytedance exited the captable at a discount of 56%, as per the news dated June 4, 2022. The regulator fillings of the company revealed that Bytedance sold its stakes to Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).

    VerSe Innovation – Mergers and Acquisitions

    Apart from Newshunt and Eterno Infotech Pvt Ltd (both are addressed as Dailyhunt today), VerSe Innovation has acquired three companies for an undisclosed amount.

    Acquisition Date Name of the Company Amount
    October 13, 2021 GolBol
    March 10, 2021 Vebbler
    February 23, 2021 Cognirel

    VerSe Innovation – Growth

    Started as an assistive company for telcos, VerSe’s growth is believed to have kickstarted with the takeover of Newshunt in 2011. With consistent funding and backup from the investors, VerSe started to grow along with Newshunt. In 2015, the company renamed its news platform as Dailyhunt. Today, Verse’s Dailyhunt offers content in 14 languages and has a monthly viewer count of over 350 million.

    In 2020, VerSe Innovation launched a short video app named ‘Josh’, a replacement for ‘TikTok’ right after its ban. This app became an immediate sensational hit among Indians. It took just 45 days for this entertainment platform to reach 23 million active users. Josh today has over 150 million monthly active users with 50 million creators as of April 2022. VerSe Innovation’s uncompromising goal toward technological development paved the way for its venture’s success. There was a 149% increase in its revenue during the previous financial year (March 2021) which is further expected to grow in the current and upcoming years.

    VerSe Innovation’s Expansion to the MENA Region

    VerSe Innovation plans to expand in the market of the Middle East. This will be started with Dailyhunt’s foray into Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait and is expected later to expand to other countries too, including Iraq, Iran, Israel, and Egypt. Furthermore, in the MENA region, Dailyhunt would also be launched in 3 other languages – Hebrew, Farsi, and Arabic in the MENA region. Desktop, web, and mobile app version, will be the 3 different versions that Dailyhunt will launch in, which will be available for both iOS and Android platforms.

    As per the news dated June 21, 2022, VerSe’s strategic and business development in the MENA region will be led by Shekhar Iyer, whom the company has appointed as the director and general manager. Iyer has previously worked with Abu Dhabi Media (Radio Mirchi), Percept Gulf (MAME), Zee Entertainment, Indian Express, and Khaleej Times for which he has been given this opportunity.

    Dailyhunt’s expansion plans to the MENA region will be fuelled by VerSe’s partnership with 5000+ content partners, which will include numerous news platforms including Al Khaleej, The Brew, MENA Newswire, Brandknew, KKompany, Chalk Media, Mudgal Kreations, Buzzing, and Gulf Today.

    VerSe Innovation – Competitors

    BuzzFeed

    BuzzFeed is an American digital media company that offers entertainment and news to its users. The company’s headquarters is located in New York, USA. The platform’s ‘social sharing’ feature and a lot of interesting content and activities keep the users coming back to them.

    Inshorts

    Inshorts is another digital news platform that gives the latest news in a crispy manner. Every news on its platform does not exceed 60 words. Inshorts contain news from all categories like business, sports, fashion, current events, etc. It is considered to be one of the top competitors of VerSe Innovation’s Dailyhunt.

    Moj

    Moj is a short-video-sharing platform similar to Josh. It proves to be the best competitor of Josh in terms of content, quality, services offered, etc. Moj is available in 16 languages.

    ShareChat

    ShareChat is another social networking service founded in 2015 in Bengaluru. It has both news and entertainment-based content in its application. This platform provides a facility called chatroom, which often organizes some chat sessions with celebrities. ShareChat functions in 15 languages and has 250 million active monthly users.

    VerSe Innovation – Future Plans

    VerSe Innovation plans to induce technological advancements and Artificial Intelligence into its system. The company recently received huge funds from investors. The co-founders said that these funds would be used to set up labs across the globe to solve video encoding problems on its platform.

    VerSe also has plans to expand into the international market, especially in South East Asia. After achieving the targeted growth in India, the company will set its foot outside the country within a year.

    FAQs

    What is VerSe Innovation as a company about?

    VerSe Innovation is a technology platform that helps its users to consume information and socialize with their community and media.

    Who are the founders of VerSe Innovation?

    Virendra Gupta, Umang Bedi, and Shailendra Sharma are the co-founders of the company.

    What is the total valuation of VerSe Innovation?

    With the recent funding worth $805 mn that came in April 2022, the company’s total valuation has reached $5 billion.

    What are the platforms that are functioning under VerSe Innovation?

    Dailyhunt and Josh are the two popular platforms that come under VerSe Innovation.

    Who are the competitors of VerSe Innovation?

    Top competitors of VerSe Innovation are: