Pooja Malik ( )
, a hyperlocal content, community, and classified platform, has raised Rs 120 crore in a Series B funding round from new investors Global Brain and Sony Innovation Fund, with participation from India Quotient and other existing investors.
The company plans to use the funds to expand in existing markets, launch new categories and product capabilities, and strengthen its product and technology teams.
“We see a natural growth in the non-english speaking population’s usage of internet-based services, creating the need for alternate social platforms like Lokal. We look forward to supporting the team as they expand across the fast-growing advertising market”, said Gen Tsuchikawa, CEO and Chief Investment Officer of Sony Ventures Corporation.
So far, the startup has bagged about Rs 225 crore in funding, including the current funding round, and has 110 employees.
Bengaluru-based Lokal, founded by Jani Pasha and Vipul Chaudhary in 2018, provides hyperlocal information like daily updates, commodity prices, local jobs, real estate, matrimonial, local business advertorials, and classifieds that would otherwise be scattered across local newspapers in vernacular languages.
The app is currently available in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Marathi, and Gujarati on the Google Play Store and has more than 40 million downloads, with a presence in about 180 districts across India.
“This funding round will be instrumental in accelerating our growth,” said Jani Pasha, Founder and CEO, Lokal. The Bengaluru-based firm has been backed by marquee investors, namely 3one4 Capital, , and .
