MxMIndia

Tag: Sequoia Capital

  • Other than Yadav, Ajey Gore has joined as Operating Partner, Technology and former journalist-turned public affairs specialist Shweta Rajpal Kohli (better known as SRK to her colleagues in NDTV) as Head of Public Policy

    Gayatri Yadav joins Sequoia as CMO

    By A Correspondent

     

    Gayatri Yadav

    Gayatri Yadav has joined Sequoia Capital as Chief Marketing Officer – India and SEA. She was until recently with Star India where she led marketing and worked as President, Consumer Strategy & Innovation. She will be based in Bengaluru, which we learn she will relocate to once the Work-from-Home regime ends at Sequoia and the rest of corporate India.

     

    This is what Shailendra Singh, Managing Director at Sequoia Capital, wrote in a statement on LinkedIn: “During her time at Star, Gayatri led a series of high impact marketing moves, including the network’s launch of Star Sports, Hotstar and the ‘Nayi Soch’ brand plan on Star Plus, which aimed to drive women’s empowerment. She started her career in Procter & Gamble in Brand Management and later joined General Mills India where, as Chief Marketing Officer, she was responsible for launching the Pillsbury brand and for creating multiple categories in the then nascent packaged foods market. In addition to her role as CMO for Sequoia Capital India, Gayatri will also work closely with our portfolio CMOs to help them launch and grow brands.”

     

    And this is how Yadav responded to the statement, again on LinkedIn: “I am honoured to join Sequoia Capital India and help daring founders build legendary companies and brands. This is a seminal point of time in the development of the Indian entrepreneurial ecosystem and there is a massive opportunity to create global brands out of the region. I am excited to join this amazing team and partner with an incredibly talented set of founders in achieving this mission.”

     

    Other than Yadav, Ajey Gore has joined as Operating Partner, Technology and former journalist-turned public affairs specialist Shweta Rajpal Kohli (better known as SRK to her former colleagues at NDTV) as Head of Public Policy.

     

    An MBA from IIM Calcutta, Yadav has worked at P&G (four years), General Mills (14 years) and Star India (nearly nine years) where she worked till October 2019.

     

     

  • Location-based mobile advertising platform AdNear has raised Rs 35 crore in its first round of funding from venture capital firms Canaan Partners and Sequoia Capital

    AdNear raises Rs 35 crore in its first round funding

    By Biswarup Gooptu

     

    Location-based mobile advertising platform AdNear has raised Rs 35 crore in its first round of funding from venture capital firms Canaan Partners and Sequoia Capital, signaling the growing attractiveness of the sector for risk capital.The funds will be used by the Bangalore and Singapore-based startup to expand its presence across the Asia Pacific region, including Australia and New Zealand, as well as towards building its team.

     

    “We decided to participate in the mobile advertising eco-system, and picked AdNear, because it has built technology to provide target advertising on mobile phones,” Rahul Khanna, partner, Cannan Partners, said.

     

    The four-year old startup, promoted by Anil Mathews, has developed its own platform that does not require Global Positioning System (GPS). It also works on both feature and smart phones. Within a year of launching its service, it has picked up multinational customers, such as Nokia, Toyota and Samsung.

     

    Sequoia and Canaan declined to state their exact holding, only saying they would hold minority stakes in the company.

     

    “It’s a technology play after a very large market of mobile advertising that has not been explored in this part of the world,” Mohit Bhatnagar, managing director at Sequoia Capital said on the AdNear transaction.

     

    The investment comes soon after Bangalore-based InMobi, an independent mobile advertising company announced that it was shutting its operations in Africa and Russia.

    The global mobile advertising market is dominated by Google’s AdMob, with growth coming from markets where smart phones dominate, including, Japan Korea and the US.

    In September last year, InMobi raised $200 million – till recently, the largest deal in the global mobile internet space – from Japanese telecommunications and media corporation Softbank.

     

    Mojiva raised $7 million earlier in the month, while Jumptap raised $27.5 million in July, prior to its public offering.

    On the mobile side, Canaan Partners had earlier invested in interactive mobile content manager Cellcast in 2007, and has also invested in mobile gaming company Kabam.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

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  • Intel Capital invests in Atul Phadnis’s What’s-On-India, along with Sequoia Capital and Nexus VP

    First on MxM: What’s-On-India gets Intel inside

    By A Correspondent

    What’s-On-India, the Indian TV industry’s popular EPG company, has raised funding from a group of investors, including Intel Capital. What’s-On-India’s existing investors – Sequoia Capital and Nexus Venture Partners – also participated in the latest funding round. The investment is aimed at expanding the technology vertical into new and emerging technologies as well as strengthening the company’s owned media portfolio.
    Atul Phadnis, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, What’s-On-India said, “Over the last 3 years, What’s-On-India has made tremendous advances both on the Technology front as well as the Media businesses. We are delighted to have Intel Capital as an investor in this journey given Intel’s focus on smart TV and other technology areas.“
    “Smart TVs, digital set-top boxes and other IPTV devices are transforming the living room and changing the way people consume content. As these new gadgets get embraced, Whats-on-India is well positioned, through their technology and content, to create compelling user experiences,” said Sudheer Kuppam, MD, Asia Pacific, Intel Capital.
    What’s-On-India is India’s premier (and perhaps only) TV guidance company working with all major TV Networks and Operators. The company’s vision is to enable TV content search, discovery and guidance across varied platforms and technologies. What’s-On-India’s Technology vertical runs India’s largest multi-platform, multi-lingual, multi-device Electronic Program Guide (EPG) system that covers more than 550 TV Channels on the source side and powers EPGs into more than 20 million set-top-boxes and devices on the destination end.
    The media vertical of the company runs the “What’s-On-India” channel, that is currently available via cable, satellite and DTH other than on web portals and via widgets and apps on Tablets, Mobile and Smart-TVs.