Venture capital firms IDG Ventures and Qualcomm Ventures have invested $3 million in Hyderabad-based mobile TV company Apalya Technologies Pvt Ltd. Apalya aggregates premium entertainment content from different content providers and optimises them for small screen or mobile viewing.
The deal has resulted in a partial exit for Mumbai Angels, a network of angel investors, who had invested Rs 2 crore in Apalya in 2008, according to CEO of Apalya,Vamshi Reddy.
Apalya plans to utilise the funds to expand its presence in India and enhance its service offering. The company believes that the investment will come in handy ahead of the much-anticipated 3G licence auctions. “This is one of the main intensification points for the rapid growth of the mobile TV and on-demand video business,” said Apalya in a statement.
Reddy, co-founder and CEO of Apalya said, with the opening up of 3G in India, the company plans to introduce additional mobile entertainment services, including customised entertainment channels, premium video programming and exclusive programmes for mobiles.
On the investment, TC Meenakshisundaram, founder and managing director, IDG Ventures India stated, Apalya fits well with the fund's criteria of a good team, disruptive technology and opportunity in mobile VAS space, as Mobile TV/video has been a “killer-app” in other 3G markets. "We believe mobile TV will play out big going forward," he added.
IDG Venture India has so far made 10 investments. Its last investment was in October 2008 in Myntra.com, a personalised gifting service platform.
