Eloelo appoints Sagar Gaonkar as chief technology officer

Sagar Gaonkar, CTO, Eloelo app

Eloelo, a creator-led social gaming and live entertainment platform, on May 29 appointed Sagar Gaonkar as its new Chief Technology Officer as the startup looks to strengthen its leadership team.

Gaonkar has over 16 years of technology expertise in the video streaming segment, including stints at Disney+ Hotstar, ShareChat, 100ms, and Ittiam Systems.

His most recent stint was at ShareChat where he was involved in the product conceptualisation and technical initiatives for live streaming, the company said in a statement.

"Sagar's expertise will be pivotal in scaling our platform and enhancing both user and creator experience. His deep understanding of the live streaming industry aligns perfectly with our focus on building a vertical social entertainment platform focused on live streaming across video and audio" said Eloelo founder Saurabh Pandey.

Gaonkar said his focus will be on expediting feature rollouts, improving platform stability, and ensuring a seamless experience to users and creators on the platform.

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

Creators can combine their live audio and video chat rooms with interactive games such as Quiz, Tambola, Antakshari, Lucky 7, Card games, and Spin the Wheel. People can also watch live events and shows that creators conduct across various categories such as dancing, music, cooking, comedy and astrology among others.

Eloelo claims to have over 75 million users in India with content available in six Indian languages. Last year, the firm had stated plans to add support for more local languages in order to cater to the growing adoption from tier 2,3 audiences.

The Bengaluru-based startup has raised over $37 million in total funding from domestic and global investors including Courtside, Waterbridge Ventures, Griffin Gaming Partners, Lumikai Fund and Kalaari Capital.