MUMBAI: One97 Communications, owner of consumer brand Paytm, has invested in NDTV's e-commerce venture Gadgets 360°.
Additionally, NDTV has also appointed Bhawna Agarwal as CEO of Gadgets 360°.
"NDTV Gadgets has always been the most credible go-to-destination for all gadget enthusiasts in India and it is very exciting to see them move to a transactional model with Gadgets 360°. We are looking forward to partnering them in this journey and creating a compelling market-place experience which marries content, curation and commerce,” said One97 & Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma.
Gadgets 360° has raised funding at a valuation of close to $50 million. Other investors include Inflexionpoint co-founder John Scully, Genpact founder Pramod Bhasin, Sixth Sense Ventures founder Nikhil Vora, former Unilever chairman Vindi Banga and M&S Partners founder and director Hiro Mashita.
Sixth Sense Ventures founder & CEO Nikhil Vora said, "I am most excited to be investing in Gadgets 360°, which has a unique model of being the only curated launch platform for all gadgets. With over 3,000 gadgets launched every year in India, I believe that there is a case for a credible platform to become the brand, which we see in the form of Gadgets 360°."
NDTV Convergence chief technology officer Kawaljit Singh Bedi said, "I am personally very excited to have such great investors in Gadgets 360° and to leverage their experience in building this into a large and meaningful business in India and globally. The investors have been pioneers in their field and with their incredible knowledge of building big businesses, they will be crucial for our success.”
The company's new CEO Agarwal has over 16 years of experience in leading start-ups of the country. She has been instrumental in setting and scaling up brands such as Yatra.com, Seventymm among others. She has been associated with Luxury Retail in the past and is also on the advisory boards of OYO Rooms, Venture Fund among others.
"NDTV Gadgets is a very popular and well respected platform amongst gadget lovers in India and is at a very interesting stage from where it can scale up very well. The new platform will be the game changer for the category and I am very excited to be a part of this journey to help take the category to the next level," added Agarwal.
NDTV Group CEO Vikram Chandra said, "Gadgets has become one of the most exciting areas of expansion for the NDTV Group. We had built a powerful brand connect in this thanks to our digital platform NDTVGadgets.com and our TV programming, with popular shows like Gadget Guru and Cell Guru. I am delighted to welcome Paytm and Vijay Shekhar Sharma, as an investor in Gadgets 360°."
