Indus OS secures $4M as pre-series B round from existing investors

Indus OS announced a pre-series B round of $4M from existing investors Omidyar Network, Ventureast  and JSW Ventures. This latest round takes Indus OS’ total funding to $13M and the funds will be used to accelerate brand partnerships, user acquisition and new product development.

Commenting on this, Rakesh Deshmukh, Co-Founder & CEO, Indus OS, said, “The continued faith shown by our existing investors will help us achieve our vision of empowering a billion Indian users with a smartphone platform of their choice. We will strengthen our efforts to build the Indus OS platform for developers to reach the Indian masses through dedicated Brand Accounts, a new way for Indians to discover the Internet.”

As per the reports, the latest round of funds will see Indus OS partnering with some of the major developers in the country through the expansion of its Brand Accounts, a novel integration of internet services within the OS platform. These Brand Accounts on the Indus OS platform aim to power the digital needs of users in a revolutionary contextual and seamless interface that is made to reduce battery and data consumption while making the experience intuitive. It offers a new way for Indians to discover Internet services without the need to download any apps. Ola Cabs, was the first to launch a Brand Account on theIndus OS Platform in August this year which  enables new users to discover Ola, while existing users can transact seamlessly through the default messenger application. These Brand Account also make Ola’s experience available in 12 regional languages catering to ~95% of the Indian population. Indus OS aims to expand its Brand Account strategy exponentially over the next year.

Badri Pillapakkam, Investment Partner at Omidyar Network said, “Indus OS continues to innovate for the smartphone user through its differentiated suite of regional language and system/ native application products that help accelerate Internet adoption by the Indian masses. We are confident that the team will cement strategic partnerships with international smartphone brands and build on the momentum gathered over the past few years.”

Indus OS, India’s preferred smartphone platform, has built a unique value proposition in the competitive smartphone market based on its localized, simplified and innovative operating system for India, thereby providing a software edge to its smartphone partners. Launched in 2015, Indus OSclimbed to the #2 position in India within a year, ahead of global giants such as Apple’s iOS & Microsoft’s Windows. Currently, it commands a user base of 10 million, across its smartphone brand partners such as Micromax, Intex, Karbonn, Celkon, and Swipe.

Earlier this year, Indus OS announced the development of the first Aadhaar authenticated and UPI integrated OS in the country. The company is consistently evolving to meet the technological needs of the Indian consumer and the ‘Digital India’ mandate of the Govt. of India. Indus OS today offers a complete platform rich in patented features and innovations that empower Indian users with smartphone technology.