BackE-platform Dekkho gets $1.2 million seed funding
Dekkho will use the proceeds from the funding round to invest in content licensing and scaling its technology infrastructure, says co-founder Tanay Desai
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Online video streaming platform Dekkho Monday said it has raised $1.2 million in a seed round from seven angel investors before it goes live in mid-January. The company did not disclose the names of the investors.
Dekkho is an over-the-top content provider similar to Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, except it does not charge its users and gives the audience additional capability to share, recommend and leave comments on the content.
The company will use the proceeds from the funding round to invest in content licensing and scaling its technology infrastructure, Dekkho co-founder Tanay Desai said in a telephone interview.
“Indian consumers are far from paying for online content. We aim to create a sustainable, three-way ecosystem for content producers, advertisers, and users through a free-to-use service," said Desai in a statement.
Dekkho has tie-ups with content providers including Sony Music, Miss Malini, Times Group, ScoopWhoop, AIB, and Culture Machine, and claims it has 12,000 hours of content already uploaded.
The company has an advertising-led revenue model. It offers ad space at the beginning or in between the videos depending on its length, and earns money through revenue-share partnerships with content creators.
Dekkho was started in March this year by Desai and Vinay Pillai, who met while they were working at Booz Allen Hamilton in Washington D.C., US. In the months since incorporation, the company has developed the back-end infrastructure for its app and website, inked several content syndication partnerships and expanded the workforce to 25 members currently.
“In the long run, Dekkho wants to experiment with its own production, for which we are in talks for a much larger Series A investment. This will happen around March-April," said Desai.
The company plans to invest heavily in marketing and promotions over the next several months. As another way to boost user engagement, it has tied up with phone manufactures including Lava, LeEco and Micromax for native push notifications and video streaming capability in their phones, without having to download Dekkho app.
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