VerSe Innovation acquires social networking app

     VerSe Innovation acquires social networking app GolBol – third strategic buy in 2021

VerSe Innovation, India’s biggest local language technology platform, today announced the acquisition of GolBol, a made-in-India social networking app. VerSe that recently marked the first anniversary of its short-video app Josh will bring on board GolBol’s entire team including co-founders Shanu Vivek, Karandeep Singh Gujral and Kaushik Mahato to help accelerate the work being done to modernize and multiply the impact of Josh.

Shanu and the team are very well versed with the techniques that allow diverse users to socialize with digital content and will focus their efforts on enhancing Josh Cam – a powerful mobile video editing app designed exclusively for users and creators of the short-video ecosystem. The app with its intuitive and sleek multi-layer editing interface, allows short-video users to impart a professional touch to their content. The team will also drive efficiencies in AI & ML to build UGC discovery initiatives that have the power to detect quality content from a stream of several thousand videos and classify these videos at scale so that users on Josh enjoy the latest, most unique and authentic content experiences.

Speaking about the acquisition, Shailendra Sharma, SVP Product & Engineering at VerSe Innovation, said, “VerSe’s clear growth strategy for Josh grounded in an entrepreneurial mindset has motivated this alliance with some of India’s brightest minds and passionate innovators who understand how Bharat consumes, creates and engages with content. Not only does this power our commitment to build Bharat’s biggest digital platform that captures the mindshare, timeshare and revenue share of local language users. It also validates our culture of learning and mentorship, and our intent to build an entrepreneurship hub to nurture and accelerate the ideas of young entrepreneurs in India’s content-tech ecosystem.”

Excited to come on board, Shanu Vivek, CEO and Co-founder of GolBol, said, “GolBol was born from the simple idea to motivate local language users to share their lives online through an easy-to-use product. We had larger plans and wanted to solve for Bharat’s diverse content needs. The ambition and clarity of thought demonstrated by the leadership at Josh convinced us that this was the right fit. We are aligned with the company’s vision to deliver a family of apps for a Bharat audience and believe that where Josh gains from our experience, we have access to resources and world-class tech at Josh to create greater impact.”

This acquisition is in line with VerSe Innovation’s vision to build cutting-edge digital capabilities to serve Bharat’s unmet content needs, bookending the year that also saw its acquisition of AI-startup Cognirel Technologies and photo and video sharing app, Vebbler.

VerSe Innovation, India’s First Unicorn in Tech for

 VerSe Innovation, India’s First Unicorn in Tech for Local Languages Acquires Photo-and-Video Sharing App Vebbler, its second acquisition in 2 weeks

 ~The camera-first, interest-based community platform brings AI based neural art filters & tools to Josh~

~VerSe Innovation recently acquired AI-startup Cognirel Technologies~

VerSe Innovation, India’s biggest local language technology platform, announced that it has acquired Vebbler, an interest-based community-focused photo and video sharing app launched by Sahil Bhagat. This is the second acquisition in two weeks for VerSe Innovation who recently acquired AI-startup Cognirel Technologies. With the acquisition of Vebbler, the company which recently emerged as India’s first tech unicorn for local languages, advances in its mission to build the largest digital media platform that serves unmet content needs of millions of consumers using technology.

 

Speaking on the acquisition, VerSe Innovation Founder Virendra Gupta and Co-Founder Umang Bedi, said, “The combination of Vebbler’s product capabilities with our platform will improve our ability to drive innovation around the camera and social engagement and play a more meaningful role in capturing the mindshare, timeshare, and revenue share of Bharat’s local language users. We have every intent to make good on our investor and consumer confidence and will continue to build and acquire powerful tools and technologies that deliver products which are consumer-focused and content-forward. We welcome the Vebbler team and look forward to creating an exciting future together.”

 

Vebbler lets people join groups called ‘clubs’ and share photos and videos around different interests, whether it’s fashion, travel, photography or entertainment. With over 100+ categories, users create content using Vebbler’s camera, packed with superior creation tools such as AI-based neural-art filters, effects, stickers, GIFs, drawing tools and fonts along with proprietary technology on video processing and editing. Leveraging Vebbler’s camera and community  will give Josh a powerful differentiator in the market and present millions of Josh users the additional opportunity to harness India’s diverse creativity and talent.   

Sahil Bhagat, Founder, Vebbler also shares, “My vision with Vebbler was to build a video first social media platform out of India. Our use case, domain understanding, technology expertise is unique in the Indian market. In VerSe Innovation’s vision, we find strategic synergies between Josh and Vebbler. This deal speaks volumes to the value and quality of our product. We are extremely excited to work together and inch closer to our shared vision of building a global product with Josh.”

 

Vebbler was backed initially by actors Dino Morea and Nikhil Chinapa. Originally, Vebbler was designed as a private way to share photos and videos with friends in real-time at events, such as holidays, weddings and concerts, which then pivoted into an interest-based network in 2018.

In the last three months, Josh, has attracted over a $200M+ investment from global marquee investors such as Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar, and Glade Brook Capital Partners, along with Google, Microsoft, and AlphaWave (a unit of Falcon Edge Capital).

Josh is a made-in-India, short-video app launched in September 2020 by VerSe Innovation. It represents a confluence of India’s top 200+ best creators, the 10 biggest music labels, 15+ million UGC creators, best in class content creation tools, the hottest entertainment formats, and formidable user demographics. Josh has been consistently rated as the leading Indian short-video app in India on the Play store. Currently, Josh is the fastest growing and most engaged short-video app in India with over 85 million MAUs (Monthly Active Users), 40 million DAUs (Daily Active Users) and 1.5+ billion video plays per day.