Way2News Secures $14 Million in Funding for Hyperlocal News Expansion
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Hyperlocal news startup Way2News raises $14 million in funding from WestBridge Capital, others
Hyderabad-based hyperlocal news platform Way2News has raised $14 million in a new round of funding led by existing investor WestBridge Capital, with participation from venture capitalist Sashi Reddi. The company plans to use the funds to strengthen its presence in existing markets, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu, and expand to other South Indian states Karnataka and Kerala. "Over the decades, if you look at the media landscape, every section of the society has not been represented... News gets generated in the metros and is distributed to towns and districts. To address this we decided to go hyperlocal," Raju Vanapala, founder and CEO of Way2News told ET. Founded in 2015 by Vanapala, Way2News provides short, hyperlocal news sourced from various citizen journalists and stringer reporters, covering regions from districts to villages and mandals. It also provides various national and international news on its platform. Way2News delivers real-time news in eight languages, including Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, and Gujarati, leveraging advanced technologies like artificial intelligence. Way2News relies on a network of around 8,000 reporters and an editorial team, producing around 4,000 news pieces daily. In 2022, the company raised $16.75 million from WestBridge Capital. The startup competes with players like Inshorts, which in 2019, launched Public, an app that allows people to record and share happenings around them with real-time local updates. It is available in Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, others. Dailyhunt is the other large news aggregator which serves users in regional languages. Currently, Way2News covers around 100 districts across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu, with plans to add 42 more districts in Karnataka and Kerala following this funding round. It has a monthly active user base of approximately 15 million and a monthly download rate exceeding 1 million. The company primarily generates revenue through advertising from local retail chains and businesses. Its current monthly revenue stands at around Rs 6 crore, with expectations to reach Rs 8 crore by March 2025. "Over the last few years, Way2News has made remarkable strides in democratising access to local news across South India, effectively addressing a crucial gap in the market. Their rapid growth in the Telugu and Tamil markets is a testament to their vision and the strength of their model. We are excited to support their expansion across South India," said Rishit Desai, partner at WestBrigde Capital.
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Hyperlocal news platform Way2News raises $14 m led by WestBridge Capital
Hyperlocal news platform Way2News has raised $14 million in a Series B funding round led by WestBridge Capital, with participation from venture capitalist Sashi Reddi. This fresh infusion of capital will be deployed on scaling its operations, enhancing its technology, and to strengthen its presence in existing markets, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu, and expand to other South Indian states Karnataka and Kerala. Way2News, which has presence in Telugu and Tamil markets, across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu, provides short, hyperlocal news sourced from various citizen journalists and stringer reporters, covering regions from districts to villages and mandals. Founded in 2015 by Raju Vanapala, the company delivers real-time news in eight languages, including Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali and Gujarati, leveraging advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and has over 50 million downloads. Additionally, the platform is focused on expanding into the Kannada and Malayalam markets. "This investment is a step towards expanding our footprint into every household in South India, ensuring that all citizens can access timely and relevant news in their language. We focus on building an inclusive, dynamic, and engaging news experience for every Indian. With this funding, we aim to scale our platform further, bringing more communities into the fold," said Raju Vanapala, Founder and CEO of Way2News. SHARE Copy linkEmailFacebookTwitterTelegramLinkedInWhatsAppRedditPublished on September 17, 2024
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Way2News, a hyperlocal news startup, has raised $14 million in a funding round led by WestBridge Capital. The company plans to use the funds to expand its presence in South India and enhance its AI-powered content delivery system.
Way2News Raises Significant Funding
Way2News, a Hyderabad-based hyperlocal news platform, has successfully secured $14 million in a funding round led by WestBridge Capital. The startup, which focuses on delivering short-form news content in vernacular languages, plans to utilize this capital injection to fuel its expansion plans and enhance its technological capabilities
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.Expansion Plans and Market Presence
With this fresh funding, Way2News aims to strengthen its foothold in South India, particularly in states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka. The company, which already boasts a strong presence in Telugu and Tamil markets, sees significant potential for growth in these regions. The expansion strategy aligns with the platform's mission to provide hyperlocal news content to a wider audience across different linguistic demographics
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.Technological Advancements
A substantial portion of the funds will be allocated towards enhancing Way2News' artificial intelligence-powered content delivery system. This investment in technology is expected to improve the platform's ability to curate and deliver relevant, localized news content to its users more efficiently. The company's focus on AI underscores the growing importance of technology in the digital news landscape
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.Investor Confidence and Market Potential
The funding round, led by WestBridge Capital, demonstrates strong investor confidence in Way2News' business model and growth potential. Sunil Cherian, Founder and CEO of Way2News, expressed enthusiasm about the partnership with WestBridge Capital, highlighting the investor's track record in building large, scalable businesses in India
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User Base and Content Strategy
Way2News currently boasts over 30 million users across Android and iOS platforms. The company's success can be attributed to its focus on delivering bite-sized news content in vernacular languages, catering to the preferences of local audiences. This approach has helped Way2News carve out a niche in the competitive digital news market
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.Future Outlook
As Way2News embarks on this new phase of growth, the company is well-positioned to capitalize on the increasing demand for localized, easily digestible news content. The funding is expected to not only drive geographical expansion but also enhance the platform's technological capabilities, potentially setting new standards in the hyperlocal news segment
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