Chingari Raises $15 million in Funding from Republic Capital, Onmobile and JPIN Venture Catalysts

Indian Social Media Network Raises Investment for its Social Media Platform and Token

Republic Capital led a $15 million investment round for Chingari, a social media application from India. Along with angel investors, Onmobile, JPIN Venture Catalysts, and Hill Harbour participated in the round. The total amount raised is now $28 million for the company. OKEx also made a strategic investment in the company, as part of which it would list Chingari’s native crypto token, $GARI, on the exchange.

Sumit Ghosh, the co-founder of Chingari, in an exclusive interview with Hackernoon, had earlier discussed how social media and blockchain could spur a new social economy. The app intends to create more revenue sources for artists, including live streaming, social shopping, and voice chat on the app, with over 35 million monthly active users. By the end of 2022, the app aims to reach 200 million users.

Cryptocurrency is getting mainstream in India, with megastars and celebrities such as Salman Khan supporting and acting as the brand ambassador for social media apps such as Chingari. $GARI will be listed on six worldwide exchange platforms, including FTX, Huobi, Kucoin, OKEX, Gate.IO, and MEXC Global. With tokens reaching the mainstream in India, celebrities endorsement, and institutional investments being injected, it is hoped the stance of the Indian government is set to transform as a soft touch regulator.

https://twitter.com/BeingSalmanKhan/status/1483084276505939973

The token will be developed with the help of the Solana blockchain. Collective ownership of social platforms has the potential to completely disrupt the creator-platform relationship globally and unlock new monetization models for creators, particularly when combined with Solana's blockchain, which offers high throughput, low transaction fees, and more.

India attracts Investment in the Blockchain Sector

With a thriving developer ecosystem, a rise in awareness and interest among retail investors to invest in tokens and cryptocurrencies, and the rise of successful projects like Polygon and Instadapp out of India, crypto and blockchain startups in the country have seen unparalleled investor capital inflow from international ventures.

In 2021, India received $638 million in crypto and blockchain investments across 48 deals. Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm located in Silicon Valley, entered India this year to invest in the cryptocurrency trading platform CoinSwitch Kuber.

Draper Dragon, a VC fund located in San Mateo, California, has opened an office in India. Antler India plans to invest in 25-30 blockchain and Web 3.0 firms over 2-3 years. Non-fungible token (NFT) initiatives, decentralized finance (DeFi), and other enterprises have received funding from Elevation Capital, Sequoia Capital India, and Kalaari Capital. The Indian blockchain industry is growing, with investors pouring in capital to get a pie of the Indian market.

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