Over-the-top (OTT) platform Stage, which focuses on regional languages, has raised $12.5 million in its Series B round, which is headed by Blume Ventures and Good Water.
Additionally, the round includes $2.5 million in secondaries for select angel investors, including Aayush Phumbra (creator of Chegg) and Harsh Shah (co-founder of Fynd). Participating were Venture Catalysts, IPV, Mumbai Angels, Chennai Angels, Physis Capital, and other current investors.
The money will be used by the organization to celebrate other cultures, connect with more people, share more stories, and support the importance of each and every cultural identity.
Stage is a hyper-localized over-the-top (OTT) platform that was launched in November 2019 by Vinay Singhal, Shashank Vaishnav, and Parveen Singhal. It provides trendy, entertaining, and educational content in a number of languages and dialects, including Rajasthani and Haryanvi.
According to the company, there are over 4.4 million paid subscribers and 20 million users.
Stage recorded a six-fold increase in income to Rs. 17.9 crore for the fiscal year that ended in March 2024 (FY24), while also reducing its losses by 4% to Rs. 22.1 crore.
The company claims that its current ARR is Rs. 180 crore.
Its rivals in the regional OTT market include OM TV, Planet Marathi, Chaupal, and Aha Video. Planet Marathi raised $5 million in July 2024 under the direction of A & MA Capital, a private equity group based in the United States. According to reports, Chaupal and Aha Video are negotiating a fresh round.
