V-Day deal: Dating app Aisle raises fresh funding from CIO Angel Network

Bangalore-based startup Aisle Network Pvt. Ltd, which runs matchmaking app Aisle, has raised an undisclosed amount in fresh funding from CIO Angel Network. Konglo Ventures, White Unicorn Ventures and LetsVenture also participated in the round.

The funding was led by Anthony Thomas, former CIO of Vodafone, and Sanjay Mehta, a serial entrepreneur-turned-angel investor, the angel network said in a press statement.

Aisle is a members-only online singles community that aims to tread the middle path between traditional matrimony websites and casual dating applications.

"Online matchmaking in India is a gender, age, proximity, faith and mother tongue-based business. We think it's also essential to understand a persons' taste & intent—these are equally important," said Able Joseph, founder & CEO, Aisle.

The startup, founded by Joseph in 2014, raised Rs 1.25 crore ($183,000 then) in pre-Series A funding from TermSheet and ah! Ventures January last year. Anand Chandrasekaran, former Snapdeal CPO, and Mekin Maheshwari, former chief people officer with Flipkart, had also participated in the round, along with other angel investors.

"Indian millennials are focusing on personalised details, lifestyle, and increasingly going mobile. Aisle is solving this broken system in match-making and matrimony," Mehta said.

Recent developments in the space include Gurgaon-based dating app Woo acquiring Los Angeles-based Dus for an undisclosed sum, to increase its footprint in the US.

In December last year, Shaadi.com, operated by People Interactive India Pvt. Ltd, acquired Frivil, a mobile-based dating app owned by Delhi-based Thrill Pte Ltd.

In August 2016, Gurgaon-based matchmaking app for the differently abled, Inclov, raised Rs 1 crore (around $149,000) in seed funding from Sarbvir Singh, former MD of Capital 18, and media entrepreneur Raghav Bahl-led digital news venture Quintillion Media Pvt. Ltd.