ClearTax acquires audio streaming platform Dose FM to build mobile products for MSMEs

Tax filing and investment platform ClearTax has bought audio streaming platform Dose FM for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition will help ClearTax build mobile products, including accounting, analytics and governance platforms, for its medium and small enterprise customers.

Founded in 2018 by Abhishek Damodara, Rishabh Harit and Akhil Appana, Dose FM has a significant presence in tier 2 cities. The platform lets users create and stream live audio shows. Creators can also directly interact with their listeners. 

“With experience in building consumer products for the Indian market, we resonated with Cleartax’s mission of building mobile-first solutions that will impact crores of Indian business owners and help simplify their lives,” said Abhishek Damodara, chief executive officer of Dose FM in a statement.

DoseFM had raised an undisclosed amount in funding from AngelList Syndicate in August 2019. The company was also a part of LightSpeed India’s incubator programme, Extreme Entrepreneur. 

ClearTax says the acquisition will help it build mobile-focused products for small businesses.

“With small businesses comprising a staggering 99.6% of total businesses across India, ClearTax will soon introduce best-in-class solutions focussed on solving their accounting, analytics and governance problems,” said Archit Gupta, chief executive officer of ClearTax in a statement.

The company had previously acquired content discovery app TOOTL in April 2018 for an undisclosed amount. 

At the time of the acquisition, ClearTax had stated that TOOTL’s algorithm will be used to curate personalised tax, finance and compliance-related content on its website.

ClearTax raised about $54.2 million in October 2018 led by Hong Kong-based investment firm Composite Capital Management as well as existing investors Sequoia Capital and SAIF Partners. 

It provides software and services including tax filing, tax cloud, TDS returns, GST, Mutual Fund Investments, CA and legal services. 

The platform currently works with 60,000 chartered accountants and tax professionals and serves 1,000 large enterprises through its GST software.