Google, Mithril Capital infuse $145mn in Roposo owner Glance

Roposo was acquired by the leading lock-screen content platform Glance last year for an undisclosed amount. (Photo: Roposo)


Glance, a subsidiary of InMobi Group and owner of video-sharing social media platform Roposo, on Tuesday, announced it has closed a $145 million investment round from Google and existing investor Mithril Capital.

The funding will be used to deepen artificial intelligence (AI) capability and product offerings, including expanding its technology team, across markets for both Glance and Roposo, the company said in a statement.

Roposo was acquired by the leading lock-screen content platform Glance last year for an undisclosed amount.

“Glance is a great example of innovation solving for mobile-first and mobile-only consumption, serving content across many of India’s local languages,” said Caesar Sengupta, VP, Google.

“This investment underlines our strong belief in working with India’s
innovative startups towards the shared goal of building a truly inclusive digital economy that will benefit everyone,” Sengupta added.

With more than 115 million daily active users, Glance delivers AI-driven personalised content in multiple languages including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Bahasa, on the lock screen of Android smartphones.

Roposo currently has more than 33 million monthly across multiple genres in more than 10 languages.

“With two of the largest digital content platforms in the country, we have taken the lead in making the digital economy accessible for the next billion users in India and globally,” said Naveen Tewari, Founder and CEO of Glance and InMobi Group.

Although InMobi Group, which is among India’s first startup unicorns, did not disclose the fresh valuation for Glance with the new funding round, the lock-screen platform may soon hit the $1 billion valuation mark.