AR Rahman-backed music platform Qyuki raises $3.5 mn from Info Edge Venture Fund

Qyuki Digital Media, a digital entertainment content provider founded by musician AR Rahman and filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, has raised $3.5 million from Info Edge Venture Fund (IEVF), the venture capital fund launched about two weeks ago by Naukri-promoter Info Edge (India). 

The investment marks the first by the just-launched fund, which currently invests from a Rs 100 crore ($14 million) corpus. 

Out of the total investment in Qyuki, IEVF deployed $2.5 million via a preference share issue and the balance $1 million was invested through a debenture issue, according to a regulatory filing.

In 2010, Qyuki raised $6 million in an equity share issue to the venture capital arm of San Jose headquartered technology company Cisco Systems, according to VCCEdge data. 

Apart from Rahman and Kapur, former news producer Sagar Gokhale is also a founder of the company. Investor and former Walt Disney India executive Samir Bangara joined the company in 2013, replacing Poonacha Machaiah as the managing director. Bangara also made an investment of around $500,000 in Qyuki.

The media company has a data-driven platform, which allows artists to share their work and connect with peers. It also provides associated services such as monetisation, brand building, optimisation, digital marketing, public relations, and opportunities for performances at concerts and music shows.

Qyuki has launched several original initiatives including Arrived, a YouTube show in which a Rahman-led jury scouted for an original new voice for the film Zero; Jammin, where music composers from the Hindi film industry came together to create original tracks; Nexa Music Lounge, which hosts English soundtracks by Indian composers and Haq Se, which shows the latest trends in hip hop music. 

In the financial year 2018-19, Qyuki posted a turnover of Rs 67.8 crore, nearly four times higher than that in the previous year.

Noida-headquartered IEVF has drawn up plans to invest up to Rs 800 crore in technology and technology-related startups over the next three years. 

Read: Will Info Edge’s bid to corner a bigger piece of India’s venture capital market pay off?

IEVF promoter Info Edge is known for its investments in food delivery startup Zomato and financial services provider Policybazaar. It has investments in real estate portal 99acres, matrimony platform Jeevansathi and ed-tech platform Shiksha. Info Edge’s more recent investments include logistics platform Shipsy, test preparatory platform Career Power, legal services platform Legitquest.