Venture Catalysts invests $500,000 in AI-driven content startup Instoried

Bengaluru-based artificial intelligence (AI)-driven content startup Instoried has raised $500,000 in a seed round from incubator and accelerator platform Venture Catalysts.

"We want to utilise these funds to expand into multiple languages and reach a global audience. With the in-house natural language processing models, Instoried is going to completely disrupt the vernacular content industry in India,” said Sharmin Ali, co-founder and CEO, Instoried.

The B2B startup was founded in 2018 by ex-Mu Sigma employee Ali and Sutanshu Raj, an alumnus of Tampere University of Technology. 

Instoried is a deep-tech startup that helps brands predict the emotional impact of their content on their customers' minds. The tool helps brands strategise, execute and deliver content using predictive analysis to increase customer engagement. 

Instoried has launched a web app and sells licences of the tool for multiple language users. It is currently available in English and Hindi and is planning to expand into a larger set of vernacular languages soon. 

“We have faith in the ability of Instoried’s highly accurate tool to disrupt and lead the market with their unique approach of targeting and catering to specific customer emotions. A big advantage we see is their focus on the emotional aspect of vernacular languages, which will be a key differentiator, especially in a country like India that has the world’s most diverse linguistic landscape,” said Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, president & co-founder, Venture Catalysts.

Deals in the space

August 2019: Local language content and news aggregator DailyHunt raised around Rs 21 crore from Goldman Sachs. 

July 2019: Mumbai-based multimedia content firm Agrahyah Technologies raised $1 million in a pre-Series A funding from a clutch of undisclosed investors. 

July 2019: Mumbai-based digital entertainment company Pocket Aces raised $14.5 million from Sequoia Capital India, DSP Group, 3One4 Capital and other investors.