Short-Videos App Josh Maker VerSe Innovation Raises $805 Mn in Funding from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

VerSe Innovation Pvt, which owns and operate short video app Josh and local language content delivery platform 'Dailyhunt', has raised $805 million in funding, from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board along with participation from Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, Luxor Capital and Sumeru Ventures, said a report by Bloomberg Quint.

This round of funding of VerSe is said to be India’s largest venture capital round of this year, to date. Majority of funds raised, about $425 million, in VerSe Innovation Pvt.’s latest round, came from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

The fresh funds raised will be utlized to broaden the company's artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities, using data science to boost user engagement and retention. The capital raised in latest round will also drive revenues through influencer-led commerce and live commerce.

Josh was launched a few months after TikTok was banned in India in year 2020. In the same year, VerSe Innovation raised over $100 million, which was followed by another $100 million fundraise from Google, Microsoft, AlphaWave.

Last year in August, the Bangalore-based VerSe has joined hands with computer vision company D-ID to introduce a new photo-to-video feature for its Josh app's users. This allowed Josh users to create videos from still photos, and add music. The users can animate their photos with three categories of movement such as funny, nostalgic, and dancing, as well as share the animated videos with followers.

Last year in March, Josh set up "Josh Studios", with the appointment of content creator Seher Bedi. Equipped with proprietary Studio Spaces, VR and AR tech, Josh Studios is to encourage creators and teach them digital marketing skills to help them produce content as they desire.

According to the company, Josh has 150 million monthly active users, while Dailyhunt has 350 million. Over 90% of the content on these two apps is in Indian languages.

According to Virendra Gupta, founder of VerSe, the company will be profitable within the next two or three years.

Leading Indian Short Video App Hipi Introduces Its Latest Avatar Offering the World’s 1st AI-based In-Video Discovery Feature

The short video entertainment platform transforms its videos into ‘Shops’ - a revolutionary feature that facilitates users to discover and shop the products from the video.

India’s extraordinary short video platform and a destination for many talented creators, Hipi raises the curtain on its new revamped look.

Hipi has gone an extra mile this time by providing the world’s first in-video ‘Shop’ button that lets the users discover and shop products from short videos they love. In establishing a new benchmark, Hipi allows users to find style inspiration and save the looks they adore while consuming the video.

With groundbreaking features, Hipi allows users to make videos in few seconds through its revolutionary short video creator section and brings the power of professional editing to users at large via filters, effects, and music. Hipi bundles a power package for creators to unleash their creativity and showcase their sumptuous work to the world.

Addressing the curtain-raiser, GBS Bindra Chief Business Officer of Hipi said: “In-Video discovery is an enormous addition to the most loved app for short videos and entertainment in India. Hipi uses the power of machine learning and computer vision to bring product discovery to the video. Hipi fuels product discovery and leads the seismic shift in consumer behaviour as we know. Unlike other platforms where creators must manually add the products to photos and videos, Hipi is able to do this at scale using technology, saving precious time for creators. The time saved by the creators can be spent honing their craft rather than do manual grunt work of adding products.

Hipi is the unique short video App that has created a distinguished benefit for its creators and users in the sea of identical short videos Apps. Hipi enables creators to showcase their unique talents and gain stardom in its true sense, through various opportunities that Hipi brings being from the house of Zee Entertainment.

About HiPi

Hipi is a leading short-form video destination that inspires creativity and passion. Made in India, Hipi has already become India’s favourite short video platform for many talented creators. Hipi brings moments of joy, inspiration, and discovery. The platform empowers brands and merchants to harness the power of storytelling and product discovery in an industry-changing, retail marketing environment.

Hipi can be downloaded on the Google Play store and the Apple App Store.