[Funding alert] Social audio platform Headfone raises $750K led by Fosun RZ Capital

Bengaluru-based social audio platform, Headfone, owned and operated by Diacoustic Labs Private Limited, on Tuesday, announced that it has raised $750,000 in seed funding led by Fosun RZ Capital, an affiliate of Chinese conglomerate Fosun Group.

The startup will use the funds to focus on building the team, improving its recommendation engine, scaling the community across India, and aggressively growing its user base.

Commenting on the investment, Wilson Jin, Chairman of Fosun RZ Capital, said,

“Fosun RZ Capital has been investing in India since 2016 and continues to focus on startups leveraging new business models and technological innovations, with Headfone being an example.” 

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Founded in 2017 by former Facebook software engineers, Pratham Khandelwal and Yogesh Sharma, Headfone is a social audio platform where anyone can record, share, and listen to audios.

Pratham Khandelwal, CEO & Co-founder, Headfone, said,

“As part of our daily routine, we spend a significant amount of time commuting, cooking, using computers or exercising. These are times when our eyes are busy or tired but ears are free to listen. We see a strong demand for audio content at such times. Since the next hundred million Indians coming online will be more comfortable with regional languages as opposed to English, we are building Headfone for easing access to vernacular audio content.”

In an official statement, the startup said its Android app has more than half-a-million downloads and its daily active user spends around 50 minutes a day listening on the platform.

Yogesh Sharma, CTO & Co-Founder, Headfone added, 

“Listeners from Tier-II or Tier-III cities love to listen to old literature, poetry or love stories in regional languages whereas a Tier-I listener would be more interested in business or finance podcasts. So, the ideal audio platform plays the matchmaker between content and listeners.”

Headfone was part of Axilor’s 8th Accelerator Cohort, Winter 2018. 

Founded in 2013, Beijing-based Fosun RZ Capital has also backed other Indian tech startups like Kredily, LetsTransport, Delhivery, Kissht, ixigo, etc.

Krishna Vinjamuri, Executive Director at Fosun RZ Capital, said, 

“With improved internet access, the audio market is expected to grow very large in India as well. The Headfone team has a strong focus on product and personalisation. The consumers love Headfone and it showcases in their ratings and retention."

(Edited by Rekha Balakrishnan)

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