Canaan, Accel India invest in Chakpak

Accel Partners (India) who have invested in Chakpak’s first round of financing earlier this year, also participated. Subrata Mitra, Partner, Accel Partners (India), will continue to be on the Board of Directors of Chakpak and will be joined by Alok Mittal, Canaan Partners’ Managing Director – India.

Chakpak, which is the fastest growing Indian online entertainment community with a global membership base, has initial focus on movies communities. This latest investment in Chakpak further highlights Canaan Partners’ ongoing commitment to early-stage technology deals in India. The investment will accelerate Chakpak’s growth and product offerings while enhancing its delivery infrastructure.

Gaurav Singh Kushwaha, Founder & CEO, Chakpak said, “It is our intention to offer nothing less than the best entertainment content available on the internet and create dynamic communities that are abuzz with activities and interactions that make sense both for our members as well as for businesses to leverage efficient ways to interact with these communities. We are delighted to partner with Canaan Partners and have the continued support of Accel Partners. Together, they bring a wealth of knowledge and experience. More importantly, they share a common vision to bring to market next generation communities and services from India, reaching millions of users across the globe.”

Commenting on the investment, Alok Mittal, Managing Director - India, Canaan Partners said, "Chakpak is among a new breed that moves away from traditional online entertainment communities, offering today's trendsetters and tastemakers to allow them to tailor-make entertainment for themselves that does not limit itself to the portal but also extends to other open platforms. Chakpak’s success within the short period since its inception is a testament to its strong understanding of community building and affinity marketing techniques."

Subrata Mitra, Partner, Accel Partners (India) added: “Chakpak’s initial focus on Bollywood and their ability to use Social Media Marketing techniques effectively have already positioned them well in the online Entertainment market in India. We believe that as entertainment channels explode, there would be an increasing need to get customers’ attention early, and Chakpak would be an “outreach” vehicle for a large user-base using Mobile or Internet as access. Chakpak therefore has the potential to redefine online entertainment for India, and Indians living abroad.”

Comscore (www.comscore.com) pegs the number of online Indians interested in entertainment related content to around 18 mn (only resident Indians). This could grow further by 10-15 mn, according to conventional estimates, to include the Non-Resident Indians.

Along with the portal, Chakpak also has a strong presence in Orkut with its application being the top movie app’ since the launch of Orkut Apps earlier this year. Chakpak’s Orkut App has had tremendous success with Indian Orkutters. Users can install the ‘app’ to rate or review movies, participate in movie quiz, view celebrity wallpapers, compare movie tastes with friends, and lots more. Chakpak has a user-base of over 5 million users per month across channels, with a 50-80% growth rate Quarter-on-Quarter.

 “Over 1,000,000 users have installed Chakpak’s Orkut app with continuing strong growth,” said Nitin Rajput, Founder & COO, Chakpak. “Chakpak has the potential to harness the power of its communities to participate in the creation, marketing and distribution of movie & entertainment projects. The social web can be an excellent yet cost-effective medium for stake-holders to connect with their intended audience and get their buy-in ahead of actual project launch,” he added.