Glance Raises 45 Million Dollar Mithril Capital
Glance Raises $45 Million Investment From Mithril Capital As It Crosses 50 Million Daily Active Users
Backed by Silicon Valley investors Ajay Royan and Peter Thiel, India’s fastest growing content platform will use the funds to launch multiple platforms and expand into Southeast Asia
Bangalore, September 10, 2019 - Glance, India’s fastest growing and the third largest content platform with 50 million daily active users, today announced that it has closed on a $45 million investment from Mithril Capital. Glance is part of the InMobi Group, which also includes InMobi Marketing Cloud and TruFactor. Mithril Capital, headquartered in Austin, Texas with over $1.2 billion in committed capital, is a growth stage investment firm co-founded by Silicon Valley investors Ajay Royan and Peter Thiel.
Glance delivers artificial intelligence-driven, personalized content to screen zero of smartphones. Every time a user wakes up their phone, their lock screen comes alive with new visual and interactive content that is personalized for them. Glance has partnered with all the leading Android phone makers in India to deliver a universal screen zero experience. As of August 2019, Glance has more than 50 million daily active users who spend 22 minutes per day on Glance.
“Glance, the world’s first and fastest growing screen zero platform, is a powerful innovation to democratize content and commerce on the mobile Internet,” said Ajay Royan, Managing General Partner and Co-founder of Mithril Capital. “We share Glance’s global vision of breaking through the constraints of application architectures and linguistic markets to deliver rich, frictionless, and engaging experiences across a myriad of cultures and languages.”
Mithril’s $45 million investment in Glance anchors a larger financing round. The new funds will enable Glance to launch multiple new platforms, including Glance TV – a mobile-first, short form video platform; Glance Gaming – a destination for casual gamers; Glance Shopping, where content meets commerce; and Glance Nearby – a hyperlocal experiential platform. The company will also use the funds to expand into Southeast Asia in the coming months. In conjunction with Mithril’s investment, co-founder Ajay Royan has joined the Glance board.
“Glance is changing the landscape of content consumption to address the demands of the ‘attention economy’ we currently live in,” said Naveen Tewari, Founder & CEO, InMobi Group. “By bringing discovery and consumption of personalized, short-form content to screen zero, Glance provides the immediacy and accessibility that consumers want.” He added, “This investment from Mithril will help us further accelerate our journey through continued innovation in content-format, personalization and content discovery, and expand into new geographies. We are also delighted to have an entrepreneurial investor like Ajay Royan partner with us on the Glance board.”
Designed with a mobile and video-first approach, Glance is currently available in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu in India, and Bahasa in Indonesia.
About Glance
Glance is the world’s first screen zero platform, enabling consumers to experience the best of the internet on screen zero of their smartphones and other connected devices. Glance’s AI-powered personalization enables consumers to enjoy content, products, and services of their choice, all delivered in an intuitive and visually stunning format. Glance is a free-to-use, zero ad platform. The Internet Starts Here is a trademark of Glance. For more information visit www.glance.com.
About InMobi Group
InMobi Group’s mission is to power intelligent, mobile-first experiences for enterprises and consumers. Its businesses across advertising, marketing, data and content platforms are shaping consumer experience in a world of connected devices. The group’s portfolio companies include InMobi – a Unified Marketing Cloud, TruFactor – a Secure Data Platform for businesses, and Glance – the world’s first Screen Zero. InMobi Group has been recognized on both the 2018 and 2019 CNBC Disruptor 50 list and as one of Fast Company’s 2018 World’s Most Innovative Companies.
About Mithril Capital Management
Mithril is a global investment firm cofounded by Ajay Royan and Peter Thiel to invest and partner with teams who use technology to build valuable and lasting businesses, often in industries long overdue for change. Agnostic to sector and geography, Mithril invests for the long-term, in size and with conviction. The firm is headquartered in Austin, Texas, with operations in Toronto, Canada.
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