[Funding alert] Technology PR startup Wizikey raises Rs 2.5 cr from IAN

Wizikey, a tech-driven PR solutions startup, has raised Rs 2.5 crore from Indian Angel Network. The funding round was led by IAN investors, including Alok Mittal, Ambarish Raghuvanshi, and Saumya Meattle (Investor Director - IAN). Other angels participating in the round include Raman Roy, Chairman, NASSCOM; Ajai Choudhary, Cofounder, HCL; and Arun Duggal, Chairman, ICR; and others.

The startup plans to utilise the amount to further develop its product offerings and scale to cover multiple vernacular languages. The funding will also be used for enhancing the platform’s AI and machine learning-based capabilities to power its recommendation engine, along with optimising the quality of content creation. The end goal of Wizikey is to help businesses choose the most relevant journalists for their brands.

Also read: Here’s how you can ace your PR game

Speaking on the announcement, Aakriti Bhargava, Co-founder, Wizikey, said,

“Public relations is one of the most potent tools that can help businesses organically garner market credibility and increase consumer mindshare. However, a majority of businesses are shying away from PR, for lack of a transparent and nifty platform. Wizikey was launched to address this exact market gap. We are delighted to have secured funding from prominent IAN investors. With them supporting our growth, we will be able to improve and scale our product, and thereby the industry.”

Founded in 2018 by Aakriti Bhargava and Anshul Sushil, Wizikey is a SaaS-based product that enables businesses to discover relevant journalists related to their businesses, industry, or even competition, and send information to them via the platform. It helps businesses in PR management, including maintaining a record of all their announcement activity and brand collaterals for easy reference, and to monitor response.

Through its email systems, Wizikey enables real-time feedback from journalists. Moreover, the platform helps businesses gain access to their media mentions with just one click through automated coverage reports. Wizikey said its users save at least 10 hours a week, on average, through its intuitive campaign workflow management.

In an official statement, the startup also added that IAN’s investment in Wizikey marks a significant step towards transforming the Indian PR and social media industry, which is estimated to be valued at Rs 4,500 crore.

This month, IAN has also invested Rs 6 crore in Bangalore-based waste management startup Saahas Zero Waste (SZW), and an undisclosed amount in Delhi-based real time AR fashion tech startup StyleDotMe.

Also read: PR tips for startups