Social networking app Nodd raises angel funding

Mumbai-based Nodd Ventures Pvt Ltd, the company which operates networking app Nodd, has raised Rs 1 crore ($146,000) in funding from former Just Dial Ltd chief technology officer Sandipan Chattopadhyay, IKYA Global associate partner Jaison Jose and other investors.

The company will use the funds to scale up its operations and expand across major cities such as New Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai. It will also use the money to strengthen its team and technology, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Nodd caters to an untapped segment and hence we don't have any direct competition. That was one of the reasons why we have drawn 11 investors to participate in an angel round of funding," said Shubham Rai, chief executive, Nodd.

The startup was founded by Rai, Praleed Suvarna, Rohan Haval and Arpit Bajpai in December 2015. Suvarna is CTO, Haval handles strategic alliances and marketing and Bajpai looks after the  roduct functions.

Nodd is an app-based networking platform that helps individuals to discover and meet like-minded people through curated experiences, data analytics, experiences, and algorithms. It lets users add photos and interests to help users follow people, add them to their circles and see their activities.

The app lets individuals network with people who have excelled academically and professionally across different walks of life. It follows a reference-based model to bring on board new members to its platform.

The app has so far recorded 100 downloads on the Google Play Store.

Nodd said it is targeting millionaires, entrepreneurs and other achievers, who tend to network for mainly three reasons—business utility, learning and glamour.