Glance, lock screen platform, has closed a $145 million investment round from Google and existing investor Mithril Capital. Glance is a subsidiary of InMobi Group and owner of the video-sharing social media platform Roposo.
Glance delivers AI-driven personalized content in multiple languages including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Bahasa on the lock screen of Android smartphones.
The platform will use the new investment to deepen its AI capability across Glance and Roposo, expand its technology team, launch services on the platform, further strengthen the brand and drive expansion in global markets.
It will also use the new investment to expand its technology team, launch services on the platform, further strengthen the brand and drive expansion in key markets across Asia and the US.
“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. “Still too many Indians have trouble finding content to read or services they can use confidently, in their own language. And this significantly limits the value of the internet for them, particularly at a time like this when the internet is the lifeline of so many people. 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.”
Glance claims to deliver content across entertainment, sports, fashion, news, and other content categories in visual format. It leverages its strategic partnership with Android smartphone brands to deliver this native user experience to consumers.
“Glance, the world’s largest screen zero platform, is a powerful innovation to democratize content on the mobile Internet,” said Ajay Royan, Managing General Partner and Co-founder of Mithril Capital. “It has been fantastic working with the Glance leadership team to realize Glance’s global vision of breaking through technical and linguistic barriers to deliver frictionless and engaging experiences across cultures and languages.”
“Glance is reimagining the future of digital consumption on smartphones,” said Naveen Tewari, Founder and CEO of Glance and InMobi Group. “We are absolutely thrilled to have Google as a strategic investor in Glance and Roposo. 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.”
-AK
Arya has been a part of the Content & Research Team at Hrnxt.com. She is a keen observer of economic developments, emerging businesses, people in business and keeps a tab on latest happenings in the business environment.