Exclusive: Sequoia and Accel to lead $10 Mn round in Rigi

Rigi, a platform for creators, influencers and celebrities to grow, manage and monetise their community, is in advanced stage talks to raise around $10 million in a new round, according to two sources aware of the development.

This will be the second institutional round for Rigi. The Bengaluru-based startup had received its maiden funding from Titan Capital, Hauz Khas Ventures and First Cheque. It was also a part of 14 startups selected under the first cohort of Accel’s Atoms program that was launched last year to make pre-seed funding for startups.

“Sequoia and Accel will be the lead investors and will collectively put around $10 million in Rigi,” said one of the sources on the condition of anonymity. “Existing backers and some angels may also participate in this round,” the person added.

Founded by Ananya Singhal and Swapnil Saurav in late 2021, Rigi helps creators take care of periodic subscription reminders, retargeting and promotions. The app allows users to create both paid and free WhatsApp and Telegram groups and sell courses and host secure webinars with only authenticated attendees. 

The startup used to gather hints of user behavior that indicated their willingness to pay in return for the influencer's rich content and it mainly targets a set of influencers who are primarily more active on Telegram and WhatsApp rather than YouTube, Instagram, or other social media platforms. 

 In a recent interview, Saurav had said that the company’s second product will automate paid Telegram and WhatsApp groups for all influencers. Through this, the startup intends to eradicate the pain of handling these groups manually. 

“The deal will value Rigi in the range of $40-50 million. The term sheet has been signed and the deal is likely to be announced soon,” said the second source.

Queries sent to Rigi, Sequoia and Accel did not elicit an immediate response. We’ll update the post in case they do.

Singhal and Suarav had earlier co-founded real money gaming platform Halaplay which was later taken over by public listed company Nazara Technologies.