VerSe Innovation Raises $805 Million The funds will be used to strengthen leadership positions, deepen AI/ML and data science capabilities
By Shrabona Ghosh •
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VerSe Innovation, a local language technology platform, has raised $805 million in its latest funding round from marquee global investors Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board (Ontario Teachers'), Luxor Capital, SumeruVentures, among others.
The investment will be focused on strengthening the company's leadership position. VerSe plans on deepening and broadening its AI/ML and data science capabilities to further cement its leadership position across all user, engagement and retention metrics, drive deeper monetization including influencers, e-commerce, live streaming and forays into Web 3.0 experiences.
"India's digital content is experiencing phenomenal growth and VerSe Innovation is well positioned to be one of the leaders in the fast-growing short video and local language content space. This investment aligns with our approach of providing strategic capital to industry leaders in India's technology sector. We look forward to supporting the next phase of VerSe Innovation's growth journey, which we believe will deliver strong risk-adjusted returns for the CPP Fund," said Frank Su, managing director, head of private equity Asia, CPP Investments.
"We are pleased to make a significant investment in VerSe Innovation through our new alternative capital solutions team, which offers flexible capital to high-quality public and private growth companies. We have been impressed by the company's innovative local language offerings, market leadership and strong management team and are excited to be partnering with them in this journey as Ontario Teachers' continues to build out its portfolio in India," Maggie Fanari, MD and global group head, High Conviction Equities at Ontario Teachers.
VerSe Innovation's proprietary technology platform powers 350 million-plus users to consume content in their local language on Dailyhunt. Its technology also powers short-video app Josh and Hyper Local Video Social app PublicVibe. The company is valued at about $ 5 billion and has raised over $ 2 billion.
