Digital media startup NewsReach raises capital from Mumbai Angels Network

Ahmedabad headquartered Vyomeen Media, which owns digital media startup NewsReach, has raised an undisclosed amount in a seed funding round from early-stage investor Mumbai Angels Network.

The company aims to use the fresh capital to improve technology, acquire publishers and for marketing, a statement said.

Founded in 2018 by Darshan Shah and Soniya Kundnani, the platform aggregates news from local publishers and other original content providers, mainly in the rural and semi-urban areas. It provides news in English, Hindi, Gujarati and Bengali.

NewsReach offers partner publications a digital footprint and monetisation of their content via advertisements and licencing to larger publications.

Shah and Kundnani, law graduates from the National Academy of Legal Studies and Research, and Symbiosis Law School, respectively, also co-founded digital advertising agency VyomDisk Media. Prior to this, they worked at advertising firm Vertoz Advertising. Earlier, Hiren Shah and Ashish Shah, founders of Vertoz had backed the venture.

“NewsReach plans to revive the local news industry by digitising it, and creating visibility and marketability to publishers,” Nandini Mansinghka, co-promoter and CEO of Mumbai Angels Network, said.

The angel group has over 135 startups in its portfolio. This month alone, it has backed three companies: fintech platform AsknBid and supply chain platform Aker Foods this week, and eco-friendly travel-tech startup BLive on April 16. 

NewsReach is the second media-tech startup to raise funds this week. On Tuesday, NewsBytes raised $510,000 in a Series A round from venture capital firm North Base Media and Powerhouse Ventures. 

Prior to that, online news aggregator Dailyhunt raised $22.5 million earlier this month in a growth round led by hedge fund Falcon Hedge Capital with Byte Dance, Advent Management and investment bank Goldman Sachs.