Tiger Global to lead $15 million funding round in Inshorts

Two years later, Tiger Global Management, the New York-based hedge fund, is planning to pump in more investments in one of its portfolio company Inshorts. The Tiger Fund is in advanced talks to lead a $10-15-million round of funding in the news media startup, according to an ET report.

The talks are happening amidst the time when Inshorts has started generating revenue through advertisements and sponsored content and is considering the launch of a subscription service.

The app publishes 60-word summaries on major news stories in the form of virtual placards that users swipe in order to move to the next news item. The platform shows advertisements and sponsored content in between the placards.

According to a media report, the ad model has been successful on the platform and now covers about 70 per cent of the operational expenses. Inshorts launched the ad on the app in July last year. The company claimed to have achieved average monthly sales of Rs1 crore within a few months of the launch of ads on the app.

Last year, the startup had introduced interactive features like quizzes for the end user.

In April 2016, it also announced its partnership with over 30 content publishers and five e-commerce players such as Zomato, BookMyShow and CarDekho for branded content.

The report added that increasing online penetration and data speed with launch of Reliance’s Jio network has risen investors’ interest in content-based players, and this why Tiger Global is looking to increase its existing bets in the space which shows promise.

The move comes as Tiger Global Management is expected to get a partial exit from its largest investment, Flipkart. Japanese media and Internet conglomerate SoftBank Group Corp.’s monster Vision Fund is picking up a reported 20% stake in Bengaluru-based e-commerce firm Flipkart for $2.6 billion.