India-based online dating app TrulyMadly has raised Rs 16 crore in Pre-Series A round funding.
The round saw participation from Venture Catalysts, 9 Unicorns, early-stage investor advisor Jana K Balan, Neil Bahal from Negen Capital, angel investor Ruchi Sihare and existing investors Inflection Point Ventures, The Chennai Angels, and AngelList.
Paytm Founder & CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma, InMobi Co-founders Abhay Singhal & Piyush Shah, Nodwin Gaming Founder Akshat Rathee, and Dr. Vaidya’s Founder & CEO Arjun Vaidya also joined the round.
The fundraise follows an overall revenue growth by 4X and a 10X growth noted from many Tier 2-3 cities like Bhubaneswar, Gwalior, Kanpur, Patna, Rajkot, Varanasi, Vijayawada among others. The platform has over 85lakhs users.
“TrulyMadly will be deploying the fresh capital to build new product offerings, expanding to new geographies, and boost its technology by leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered platform features and Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to empower millennials in exploring serious relationships in an increasingly digital world,” the statement said.
Speaking on the fundraise, TrulyMadly CEO & Co-founder Snehil Khanor said, “The strong growth is backed by our mission of removing the stigma associated with dating and dating apps in India. The 4X growth in revenue over last year is reflective of the value our proprietary technology has brought to young millennials with serious intent towards relationships.”
“Our next stage of growth will be led by further developing our technology platform to enhance the experience and increase our reach in Tier 2-3 cities. We are thankful to our investors for believing in us. We are beyond excited to add some great names to our capabilities in this round. In the next 6 months we are slated to launch some amazing new product features catered specifically to the Indian way of dating,” Snehil added.
Commenting on the funding, 9Unicorns Co-founder & MD Dr. Apoorva Ranjan Sharma said, “Going beyond the hook-up culture that dating apps are known for, TrulyMadly goes a step further by addressing a niche need-gap: connecting the youth who seek to engage in serious relationships before getting ready for marriage. To achieve this, the brand leverages a psychometric tool built with the help of top psychologists and psychometricians in India to accurately assess the compatibility between two profiles based on dimensions as diverse as family values, trust, intimacy, and intellect. This unique value proposition has struck a chord with its target audience which is already 8.5 million strong and growing. We are delighted to associate with a high potential brand led by a founding team of great caliber. We wish them continued success.”
“We have always believed in TrulyMadly’s vision of building a robust technology platform that brings value to their community of users. They have moved the needle remarkably in shifting the mindset of Indian millennials towards dating through an intuitive and engaging platform,” Inflection Point Ventures Co-founder Mitesh Shah added.
Adding to the statement, The Chennai Angels Lead Angel Kayar Raghavan said, “TrulyMadly has found its niche market fit as a product. The traction is seen in the last twelve months and the increasing brand recognition has proven that the product strategy being executed by the team is a hit particularly in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.”
“The team deserves all kudos for their diligence and singular attention in bringing to market in double quick time product features that TrulyMadly’s target demographics love. The Chennai Angels are delighted naturally to follow on in this growth round expressing its vote of confidence in TrulyMadly and the excellent work the team is doing,” Raghavan added.