Local language tech platform VerSe Innovation raises another $100 million

VerSe Innovation, a leading local language technology platform in India, on Monday announced it has raised another USD 100 million-plus in a Series H funding round led Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar, and Glade Brook Capital Partners.

Canaan Valley Capital and existing investor Sofina Group also participated in this round, it said in a statement.

The investment follows close on the heels of a USD 100 million-plus fund raise from Google, Microsoft and AlphaWave in December last year.

VerSe Innovation plans to deploy this capital steadily in the continued scaling up of ''made-in-Bharat-for-Bharat-by- Bharat-in-12-Bhartiya-languages-hosted-in-Bharat'' short video platform ''Josh''.

"This will include the augmentation of local language content offerings, the development of its content creator ecosystem, innovation in AI and ML and more importantly, creation of opportunity for Indias vast talent pool", the statement said.

Currently, Josh is the fastest growing and most engaged short-video app in India with over 85 million MAUs (Monthly Active Users), 40 million DAUs (Daily Active Users) and 1.5 billion video plays per day, it said.

VerSe Innovations proprietary technology platform also powers various technology solutions including 300 million-plus users on ''Dailyhunt'' to consume content in their local language, the statement added.