Fandrum Raises Large Pre-seed Investment, to Democratise Fan Access to Celebrities

Fandrum, India's pioneering Digital Fan Community Platform and a Fan Community SaS started by Samridhi Katyal and Vipul Chaube has raised a large pre seed round from media entrepreneur and angel investor Dr Annurag Batra who is investing in media tech platforms given his unique position in the media industry.

Samridhi Katyal and Vipul Chaube are seasoned media professionals and content and business specialists who have spent almost 18 years each in the media industry in senior roles in large media organisations like Star India (now Disney India) and Viacom 18. They both bring unique understanding of media business, broadcast businesses, audiences and content creation and acquisition. Samridhi and Vipul understand content across all platforms in digital and broadcast and films.

Dr Annurag Batra, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of BW Businessworld group and Founder, exchange4media Group, talking of his investment in Fandrum, a Social Media Platform built for fans said, "I am very excited to be partnering with Fandrum and their talented teams."

"Their expertise in media and content makes them a valuable asset to any media platform or movie looking to enhance their relationship and engagement with fans via marketing and analytical efforts," Batra added, "Fans provide valuable feedback and insights that can help the industry improve and evolve. Their opinions and preferences shape the direction and content of media and entertainment products." Batra added.

Samridhi and Vipul and Fandrum are on a mission to democratise Fan access to celebrities while they help media platforms and content creators deepen their engagement with fans.

Fandrums CEO, Samridhi Katyal, expressed his gratitude for the investment and partnership with Dr Batra. "We are thrilled to have Dr Batra on board as an investor and advisor. His experience and insights will be invaluable as we continue to grow and expand our services." She further said, "Fans are essential to the success and growth of the media and entertainment industry. Without fans, the industry would not have the support or resources to create and distribute content. Fans provide support and revenue for the industry through their viewership, purchases, and engagement. Fans drive ratings and box office numbers, which determine the success and profitability of media and entertainment products. They also play a crucial role in promoting and spreading awareness of media and entertainment products through word-of-mouth and social media sharing. In short, the media and entertainment industry relies on the support and engagement of fans to continue creating and delivering content that captivates and entertains audiences."

Vipul Chaube, Co-founder Fandrum added that Fandrum is the solution which addresses the need of the Entertainment Industry for data. Fandrum curates imprints thus providing a channel for the industry to build a feedback loop.

Luv Ranjan noted Bollywood director-producer is the third founder of Fandrum. His next movie starring Ranbir Kapoor and Shraddha Kapoor is releasing on Holi next year.

Fandrum is online platform designed to match TV/Screen audiences into communities using psychographic analysis who have the same; not similar taste in content together to discuss or fool around with the content in various ways using images, memes, gifs, short format content and other forms.

The deal advisor was Evolution Partners, a Boutique investment advisory firm headquartered in Mumbai and Singapore who has advised its clients on investments in F and B, Media Tech, FMCH, Blockchain, Deep Tech and Fintech.

Fandrum is in the process of raising a large round in early 2023 to scale up in all aspects for all its platform stakeholders.