THE GOVERNMENT'S BAN on Chinese short-form video app TikTok in June 2020 saw the birth of a series of similar domestic platforms such as Trell, Roposo, ShareChat's Moj, Chingari, and Verse's Josh. All of them saw high investor interest. However, today none of them are a force to reckon with, having failed to fill the void created by Tik Tok's exit, with even investor interest dwindling.
Prominent VC firms such as Tiber Global, LightSpeed Venture, Qatar Investment Authority and Peak XV had put in $65.8 million into these companies at the peak of the funding boom in 2021, and then $29 million in the year that followed, as per Tracxn data. However, the companies failed to capitalise on the opportunity and are now struggling with rising costs, declining engagement and user retention.
While Trell and Roposo have pivoted largely towards a content-to-commerce business model, the rest are still trying to compete with giants such as Meta's Instagram to capture the short-video market. To achieve profitability in such a scenario, Chingari had reportedly fired about 50% of its workforce late last year, while Moj's parent Mohalla Tech's losses jumped 38% to ₹4,000 crore in FY23.
As a result in 2023, shortvideo apps received zero funding from investors.
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