Unlu raises Rs 9 cr in funding from Nexus Venture Partners, others

Unlu, which has over one million users, focusses on celebrity engagements for consumers and brands with more than 2,000 celebrities on its platform.It also offers Unluclass - an edu-tainment platform that has seen personalities like Johnny Lever, Ruskin Bond, Manoj Bajpayee and Shashank Khaitan share their experiences with users.

Celebrity engagement platform Unlu has raised Rs 9 crore in funding led by Nexus Venture Partners.

The seed funding round also saw participation from Mumbai Angels, VGangels, TiE and Expert Dojo, a statement said.

The company plans to utilise the funding to build technological base, support product development and fuel market expansion, it added.

City-based Unlu was founded last year by Vipul Agrawal, Himanshu Periwal, Akshay Pruthi and Anurag Dalia. Unlu, which has over one million users, focusses on celebrity engagements for consumers and brands with more than 2,000 celebrities on its platform.

It also offers Unluclass - an edu-tainment platform that has seen personalities like Johnny Lever, Ruskin Bond, Manoj Bajpayee and Shashank Khaitan share their experiences with users. It has also seen strong growth on B2B engagements with celebrities like Shaan, Salim-Sulaiman and Harbhajan Singh engage with brands such as Flipkart, MPL, and Dr Vaidya.

''We founded Unlu with a single minded focus to understand and exceed the expectations and needs of celebrities and fans and are excited to see the results and path forward. We understand the needs of celebrities who have tight schedules but want increased engagement with fans and need a platform to share knowledge about the craft they have perfected,'' Unlu co-founder Vipul Agrawal said.

Unlu co-founder Himanshu Periwal said the company's vision is to use technology to significantly enhance the experience of celebrities with consumers and brands in a win-win manner for all stakeholders.

''Our product allows users to engage with the likes of Manoj Bajpayee, Guru Randhawa, Saina Nehwal, and more than 2,000 celebrities in various formats,” he added.

Nexus has invested in a number of technology-led businesses for India, including Unacademy, Delhivery, Snapdeal, Turtlemint, Whitehat Jr, Zolo, Rapido, Paysense and Pratilipi.

“We are excited to partner with Unlu in their vision of using technology led innovations for significantly improving celebrity – fan engagements,” Anup Gupta, Managing Director of Nexus Venture Partners, said.