Way2News, a pioneering hyperlocal news platform, has secured a significant boost of $14 million in its Series B funding round led by WestBridge Capital, with support from seasoned venture capitalist Sashi Reddi. This fresh capital influx will enable Way2News to scale its operations, enhance its technology, and expand its presence in the lucrative South Indian market.
Just a year ago, Way2News had raised $16.75 million in its Series A round, catapulting the Bengaluru-based firm into the big league. Founded in 2015, Way2News has grown exponentially since then, boasting an impressive 6.5 million daily active users, 13 million monthly active users, and over 50 million downloads across app stores.
What sets Way2News apart is its localized newsaggregation model, which covers not just districts but villages and mandals in their local languages such as Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, and Gujarati from trusted local sources. This approach has helped the platform build a reputation for delivering short, relevant, and reliable news stories to its massive user base.
According to TheKredible, a leading startup data intelligence platform, Way2News has seen a 6% increase in operating revenue to Rs 29 Cr in FY23 from Rs 27.35 Cr in FY22. While the company reported a loss of Rs 15.14 Cr in FY23, it was still profitable in FY22 with earnings of Rs 4.78 Cr.
As the news aggregation space continues to heat up, Way2News faces stiff competition from InShorts, Dailyhunt, Inshorts’ Public app, and Feedly. However, with its strong user base and robust content offerings, Way2News is well-positioned to stay ahead of the curve.