Yadav scaling content with OTT Partners
Seoul-based DAOL Investment participated in the US$9.5 million extended series A funding round of Rusk Media Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, which is to launch a blockchain-based UGC-led gaming platform for GenZ audiences.
Audacity Ventures from Kerala also joined existing investors InfoEdge Ventures (IEV), Mistry Ventures, Survam Partners in the round.
Rusk Media has raised a total of US$12 million in the last three years and counts Nazara Games and NODWIN Gaming as their investors, among others.
The company is known through its content and IPs on social channels Alright! and Playground with over 500+ million monthly views as well as their shows on OTT Platforms.
“As Investors from Korea, we have seen the immense potential of locally generated premium content and scalability of strong IPs,” said Chihoon Hyun, Partner at DAOL Investment and co-lead investor for the current round.
“We believe Rusk is well positioned to become an entertainment powerhouse with their plans for IPs and IP led gaming platform.”
“We have confidence in Rusk’s competitiveness in IP creation across fiction, non-fiction and e-sports entertainment,” Hyun said on 19 Aug 2022.
Rusk Media CEO Mayank Yadav said, “With the behavioral shift of the digital native audiences, entertainment has transformed across 30-second snackable social videos, OTT shows, casual and AAA gaming.
“Our future plans are two-fold. First, scaling our content with OTT partners via our IPs in India and the rest of the world, with Playground leading the way for our expansion globally.
“Second, building a UGC-led social gaming platform that will enable game developers to create games and publish them on our platform using our game developer app that plans to leverage blockchain technology.”
While the company presently creates entertainment video content for their audiences, it will soon launch a UGC-led social gaming platform. UGC game creation is becoming widely popular globally with platforms such as Roblox becoming staple destinations for the age group of 8–14-year-olds in the US and Southeast Asia, and Rusk’s platform will enable game developers to create games using freely available Rusk IP assets.
With these developments and an upcoming UGC social gaming platform along with newly acquired capital, Rusk Media is committed to deliver big on its promise of disrupting the entire entertainment ecosystem, he said. fiinews.com
