Entertainment startup Rusk Media raises $9.5 million in series A round

Digital entertainment company Rusk Media Pvt Ltd, which makes content aimed at GenZ audiences has raised over $9.5 million in an extended series A funding round. Seoul based DAOL Investment and Audacity Ventures led the extension round with existing investors InfoEdge Ventures (IEV), Mistry Ventures, Survam Partners also participating in the round.

Rusk Media has raised a total of $12 million in the last three years and counts Nazara Games, and NODWIN gaming as their investors, among others.

While the company currently makes entertainment video content for their audiences it is working launching a UGC-led social gaming platform. UGC game creation is becoming widely popular globally with platforms such as Roblox becoming staple destinations for those in the of 8–14 age group in the US and the Southeast Asia. Rusk’s platform will enable game developers to create games using freely available Rusk IP assets.

The New Delhi-based company is known through its content & IPs on social channels Alright! and Playground with over 500M+ monthly views, and their shows on OTT Platforms.

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Speaking about its investment, Chihoon Hyun, Partner at DAOL Investment and co-lead investor for current round said,

“We have confidence in Rusk’s competitiveness in IP creation across fiction, non-fiction, and e-sports entertainment. As Investors from Korea, we have seen the immense potential of locally generated premium content and scalability of strong IPs. We believe Rusk is well positioned to become an entertainment powerhouse with their plans on their IPs and IP led gaming platform."

Rusk Media with NODWIN Gaming recently launched gaming entertainment IP, Playground, built with some of India’s largest gaming entertainers like CarryMinati, Triggered Insaan, ScoutOP and Mortal. It received over 200M+ views – creating a new space within the gaming entertainment ecosystem. The IP is slated for a global launch for the upcoming edition in December 2022 - January 2023.

“With the behavioral shift of the digital native audiences – entertainment has transformed across 30-second snackable social videos, OTT shows, casual & AAA gaming," said Mayank Yadav, CEO, Rusk Media.

"Our future plans are two-fold – firstly, scaling our content with OTT partners via our IPs in India and the rest of the world, with Playground leading the way for our expansion globally. Secondly, building a UGC-led social gaming platform that will enable game developers to create games and publish them on our platform using our game developer app that plans to leverage blockchain technology.”