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Dialect-based hyperlocal OTT platform STAGE has raised ₹40 crore in funding led by Blume Ventures with participation from NB Ventures, Dholakia Ventures, TSM Ventures, WeFounderCircle, Mumbai Angels, Tarmac Ventures, Tailwind Ventures, Longtail Ventures, Lets Ventures and AngelList.
Existing investors who participated are Better Capital, IPV, TCA, Venture Catalysts along with some angels. The company previously raised ₹31 crore bringing the total capital raised till now to ₹71 crore.
STAGE started with Haryanavi content in 2019, now has over 2,25,000 subscribers, and is growing at 30 per cent m-o-m. STAGE has produced many hit web series in Haryanvi including Akhada, Group-D, College Kaand, Opri Parai, etc. STAGE launched the Rajasthani dialect in June 2022 and already has more than 10,000 subscribers.
STAGE was founded in November 2019 by Vinay Singhal, Shashank Vaishnav, Parveen Singhal and a team with previous experience in building viral content. They co-founded WittyFeed earlier.
Vinay Singhal, Co-founder, STAGE, said, “The capital raised will be used to go deeper in Haryana and Rajasthan, create more original content and grow the product. We plan to capture 10 per cent of 25 million+ households watching video content in Haryana and Rajasthan by mid-2024.”
Singhal added, “STAGE’s vision is to become a platform for entertainment, connection & celebration of cultures for all dialect-speaking people in the country. By 2027, we plan to launch in the top 20 dialects of the country, which have a potential to reach 200 million+ households.”
Karthik Reddy, Co-founder, Blume Ventures said, “STAGE’s slogan describes the passion and motivations of the team to build for the immense diversity of language and dialect that India offers. Building quality content is the best bet to conserve our dialects and languages and this is STAGE’s mission. With two dialects launched and dozens more to build, we are excited to be partners on this journey.”
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