The ban on TikTok has sent the Indian startup ecosystem into a frenzy for creating an alternative to the popular short video entertainment application. Amongst all, ShareChat appeared to be in a better position to do so and the company has just launched Moj for Android phones.
Akin to TikTok, Moj allows users to download and upload 15-second videos with features such as lip-syncing. Team Entrackr tried the app and found that it’s not allowing all users to upload but anyone can download the videos.
The Moj app made its debut on Play Store on June 29 and has managed to amass 10,000 downloads in the past couple of days. The app is available in 15 languages including Oriya, Bhojpuri, Tamil, Telugu and Haryanvi, among others.
The app seems to have been developed in a short span of time and yet to offer full features. Till now, ShareChat wasn’t in the short video space. The ban on TikTok and other Chinese apps have created a vast scope for local companies to acquire more than 200 million users. Before the ban, TikTok had over 200 million users from India.
Over the past few months, several short video apps made their debut on Play Store. And today, Mitron Tv, a short video app, raised Rs 2 crore from 3One4 Capital and Lets Venture. Over the past few days, investors have been showing decent interest in funding ‘Made in India apps’.
Media conglomerate Zee Group also entered the short video space with HiPi on Wednesday. Entrackr had exclusively reported about HiPi two weeks ago. Unlike others, it won’t be a separate app and will be integrated into Zee5’s native app.
InMobi’s Roposo is also in the list to claim the top spot in the short video space.
The race for becoming India’s TikTok has picked up steam and we are set to see dozens of apps attempting to create a desi version of Bytedance’s most popular product. But the question remains as to what happens if and when India’s government allows the Chinese apps to function.
