Eloelo bags $13.5 million funding led by Play Ventures, to expand into new markets

Eloelo plans to use the capital raised to go deeper into generative AI use cases and expand into Indian diaspora markets.

Eloelo has raised Rs 114.3 crore ($13.5 million) in its Series B funding to expand into new markets and accelerate its monetisation efforts, the creator-led live social entertainment platform announced on April 10.

The round was led by Singapore-based venture capital firm Play Ventures with participation from new and existing investors such as Kalaari Capital, MIXI Investments, Gameskraft Technologies, Griffin Gaming Partners, Waterbridge Ventures, Courtside Ventures and Rocket Capital.

With this investment, Eloelo has raised over $50 million funding to date, including a $22 million round led by Courtside Ventures and Griffin Gaming Partners in September 2023.

"Play Ventures believes that next-generation social platforms built natively for mobile-first and video-first communities remains a massively untapped opportunity," said Anton Backman, Partner at Play Ventures.

"We're seeing the convergence of creator-led content, real-time community engagement, and gamified social experiences reshaping how digital natives connect and express themselves. We believe Eloelo is at the forefront of this shift, bridging live streaming, gaming and culture in a way that’s uniquely local and globally scalable."

Started in July 2020 by former Flipkart executives Saurabh Pandey and Akshay Dubey, Eloelo allows creators to host interactive video and audio live streams, build communities and monetise directly from their audiences through virtual gifts that can be converted into physical money.

"Eloelo is bringing the ‘Social’ back in consumer social platforms at a time when most platforms are built for passive content viewing. We believe that feeling connected to others is a primary human need of belongingness, and we are solving that across eight languages by connecting Indians over interactive livestreams with games, chat & virtual gifting to express their emotions," Pandey said.

Pandey said Eloelo has more than 150,000 creators of which more than 20,000 creators are "earning a livelihood" by streaming and building their own digital communities.

Eloelo plans to use the funds to go deeper into generative artificial intelligence (AI) use cases and expand into Indian diaspora markets.

The company has 90 million users, including 1.5 million paying users, Pandey said. He claimed the Bengaluru-based startup is hitting an annual revenue run rate (ARR) of Rs 200 crore ($23 million), less than a year after launching monetisation in May 2024, and aims to reach a $60 million ARR by the end of the year.

"Consumer Tech in India is going through a massive shift away from ad-first models to micro payments, and we are happy to be powering this shift. Gone are the days when India was the MAU farm of the world - we are here to prove that the Bharat-first models have massive monetization potential," he said.

India's media and entertainment market is worth $25 billion, of which $12 billion comes from new media such as esports, live streaming, gaming, and digital media, registering a compound annual growth rate of 16 percent, a report by venture capital firm Lumikai said.