Bulbul raises US$ 8.7M funding

Bulbul, a video  and livestream platform, has raised US$ 8.7M in its latest round of funding led by Info Edge.

Existing investors including Sequoia Capital India’s Surge and Leo Capital also participated in the round to raise the remaining capital.

About Bulbul

Launched in December 2018, Bulbul is operated by Bulbulive Shopping Network Pte Ltd. TrulyMadly co-founder Sachin Bhatia, Gigstart co-founder Atit Jain and Hawa co-founder Sichen Liu founded Bulbul.

It enables consumers to discover new products through a live and interactive e-commerce platform. Additionally, it features influencers who explain the various features of the product and interact with customers to clarify queries during a live broadcast. In the recent fiscal year, the company has generated a turnover of US$ 600K (Rs 4.5 Cr).

About Info Edge

India based Info Edge Ltd owns and operates portals such as job site Naukri.com.

In a stock market filing, Info Edge noted that it has invested approximately US$ 6.33M in Bulbul, and in return acquired a 17.82% stake on a fully converted and diluted basis.

Additionally, the investment will take place through debut venture fund, IE Venture Fund I, launched in early 2020. The new fund has underlined the structured manner in which Info Edge will make investments. “The IE Venture Fund I has acquired/agreed to acquire 416 ordinary shares and 2,002 series A1 compulsorily redeemable convertible preferred shares, through a mix of primary and secondary mode of acquisition,” Info Edge said in a regulatory filing.

In January, Info Edge claimed that it will invest around US$ 14M (INR 100 Cr) in the fund, sponsored through its wholly owned unit Smartweb Internet Services Ltd. Recently, it proposed to raise approximately US$ 100M for the fund. In addition, the company was in exploratory talks to raise US$ 50M from Limited Partners outside Info Edge.

Some of the startups that the fund has invested in include DotPe, a payments company set up by PayU India co-founder, Qyuki, a venture co-founded by music composer AR Rahman, Fanclash, an e-sports community engagement platform, and Truemeds, a tele-health platform.