Tiger Global invest $6 million in TVF

Tiger Global invest $6 million in TVF

Tiger Global invest $6 million in TVF

TVF

MUMBAI: The Viral Fever (TVF), an over-the-top (OTT) platform, has raised an additional $6 million (around Rs 41 crore at current exchange rates) from existing investor Tiger Global, according to VCCircle.

Tiger Global is one of the most active venture capital investors, with around 50 firms in its portfolio. It has backed unicorns including e-commerce major Flipkart, classifieds platform Quikr and ride-sharing firms Ola and Uber.

TVF started out as a YouTube channel that produced premium content targeted at a young demographic. Besides YouTube, its website and Android and iOS apps also serve as digital OTT content distribution platforms.

TVF which is operated by Contagious Online Media Network, raised the fresh capital at an estimated post-money valuation of around $40 million (around Rs 270 crore). TVF has also raised more than $20 million in external funding, which includes a $4.97 million investment from Tiger Global in July.

The platform was founded in 2010 by Arunabh Kumar and incorporated in August 2015. It is backed by well-known individual investors that include Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal, Ola co-founders Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Freecharge founder Kunal Shah and Toppr founder Zishaan Hayath, among others.

TVF generates its revenues through marketing and advertising streams associated with its content viewership. It is yet to charge audiences for its content.

The company had a tumultuous 2017 after founder and CEO Kumar stepped down as chief executive officer following accusations of sexual harassment by a former employee.

He was replaced by TVF’s chief operating officer Dhawal Gusain.