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Mobile content company Nazara Technologies is set to announce its second round of funding of $7 million early next month, reports DNA. This funding has been in the works for some time. According to the report, the existing investor Sequoia Capital India (it invested $1.5 million in 2006) is also expected to take part in the new round, besides an unnamed overseas venture capital fund. Nazara has mobile content rights to cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, besides developing and aggregating entertainment and gaming content. The company is founded by Nitish Mittersain.
Mobile content business is not so much in fashion since they are still left with an unfavourably disproportionate revenue share vis-a-vis the telecom operator. The last funding in the business was that of Norwest Venture Capital and Nexus India Capital's in Mobile2Win sometime last year. Another mobile content company Mauj, which is also funded by Sequoia ($10 million), has not landed second round, while its parent People Interactive (owner of Shaadi.com) is believed to have closed a deal with Goldman Sachs.
However, investors are not hesitant to back companies that manage the mobile value added services infrastructure (as against content aggregation) such as OnMobile (going in for an IPO) and one97 Communications (landed funding from SAIF Partners and Silicon Valley Bank).