Online app development platform SnapLion raises funding from Orios Venture Partners, IAN, India Internet Group & Blume Ventures

SnapLion Global Ltd, a Gibraltar-based startup with a subsidiary in Delhi providing SnapLion.com, an online platform to create sleek, interactive mobile apps for anyone wishing to engage their fans in real time, has received undisclosed round of funding from India Internet Group, Blume Ventures and Rehan yar Khan-led Orios Venture Partners.

Silicon Valley-based investors, including Vuclip CEO Nickhil Jakatdar and Piyush Shah, apart from Indian Angel Network members Rajan Anandan, Sandeep Soni and Gaurav Sharma, also participated in the round, the company said in a statement.

"This fresh round of investment will be used to improve our core platform. A part of the money will go towards fuelling our global expansion," said Nikhil Sama, co-founder & CEO, SnapLion.

Founded in 2011 by Sama, SnapLion is a 'do-it-yourself' platform that enables anyone to build custom mobile apps within a few hours, without coding skills. Restaurants, musicians, artists, designers, venues, event promoters, record labels and photographers can create and manage their own iPhone and Android apps quickly, easily and inexpensively. Consumers can use the app to engage with brands, make reservations, view socially engaging menus and order food. Unlike traditional iPhone and Android apps, these apps can be updated with new content and design on the go in real time, by updating the back end CMS at SnapLion.com, the company claimed.

SnapLion follows a subscription model for building and publishing the native mobile app on iTunes and Google Play. The price starts at $35 per month for artists and can exceed $1,000 for large chains and professional sports teams. SnapLion's clients include Buddha Bar in Delhi, High Spirits in Pune, Plush in Kolkata, OnToes in Mumbai as well as Grammy Award nominee Anoushka Shankar and renowned Indian violinist Dr L Subramaniam.

Sama, an MBA in Organisational Behaviour, Finance and Entrepreneurship from The University of Chicago, was previously director at early-stage technology fund Rocket Internet GmbH. Prior to that he was a strategy consultant with Bain & Company in Chicago. He has also worked with Cisco Systems, Hughes Research Labs, and Hewlett Packard, Sequoia Capital etc.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)