iWorld
Nikhil Chinapa joins DotMe as advisor, backing startup’s global ambitions
MUMBAI: Nikhil Chinapa, the media personality who helped build India’s electronic music scene from scratch, has thrown his weight behind DotMe, a Mumbai creator-tech platform gunning for global reach.
Chinapa, co-founder of Submerge and the curator behind festivals including Sunburn and VH1 Supersonic, stumbled across DotMe as a user before deciding to come aboard. Terms remain under wraps, but the deal marks a coup for the startup, which has quietly attracted over 100,000 monthly users with its link-in-bio tools.
The platform lets creators corral their digital lives into one slick hub: content sharing, product sales, community management and analytics, all in a single interface. Now DotMe is building a business-to-business suite for agencies and brands to wrangle creators, campaigns and data through one dashboard.
“DotMe represents what the new India stands for: products built with ambition, clarity, and the ability to scale globally,” said Chinapa, now strategic advisor. “I’m excited to join the journey and contribute to taking Indian innovation to the world”.
The timing is ripe. The global creator economy is forecast to balloon from $127.65bn in 2023 to $528.39bn by 2030, growing at 22.5 per cent annually.
India’s digital content creation market alone should hit $4.40bn by decade’s end. Indian creators already sway over $350bn in consumer spending each year, a figure that underscores how content and commerce are colliding.
DotMe raised $150,000 in March at a $1.25m valuation, led by Mirza Baig, former co-founder of Jimmy’s Cocktails. Co-founder Harsh Vijaykumar said Chinapa’s arrival “pushes us to innovate even faster”.
Whether DotMe can elbow past established players like Linktree remains an open question. But with Chinapa’s cultural clout and India’s booming creator class, the platform has picked its moment to make noise.
iWorld
Prime Video bets big on India with global originals, films and franchise expansion
Execs highlight scale, travelability and new IP bets as India anchors global strategy
MUMBAI: At Prime Video Presents 2026, the message was clear and confident. India is not just part of the plan, it is central to it.
In a lively fireside chat hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar, Kelly Day, vice president of prime video and amazon mgm studios international, Nicole Clemens, vice president of international originals, and Gaurav Gandhi, vice president for Apac and Anz, laid out an ambitious roadmap. Think bigger stories, wider reach and a sharper focus on building franchises that travel.
Kelly Day, a regular visitor to India, set the tone early. Calling the country “one of the most important markets globally”, she pointed to the sheer scale and diversity of audiences as a driving force behind Prime Video’s growth. Indian Originals, she said, are not just local hits but global engines powering subscriptions and engagement.
That global appeal is already visible. According to Clemens, around 25 percent of viewership for Indian content now comes from outside the country. Shows rooted deeply in local culture are finding fans worldwide, proving that specificity, when paired with universal themes, travels well. From gritty dramas to sharp thrillers, Indian storytelling is increasingly crossing borders with ease.
Clemens, who joined recently to lead international originals, was particularly upbeat about India’s creative range. She highlighted a growing slate of over 100 shows in development and production, with more than 60 percent returning for multiple seasons. For her, the formula is simple. Authentic stories, told well, resonate everywhere.
Adding to the buzz, she teased new and returning titles, alongside a fresh superhero universe, the Kalyug Warriors. It signals a push into new genres while doubling down on familiar fan favourites.
If content is king, distribution is the clever courtier. Day outlined Prime Video’s layered business model in India, which blends subscription, rentals, add on channels and ad supported viewing through Amazon MX Player. The idea is straightforward. Give viewers choice, whether they want premium, free or pay per view.
India, she noted, has also become a testing ground for innovation. Tiered pricing, mobile only plans and language diversity have all been sharpened here before being exported to other markets. In many ways, the India playbook is now influencing global strategy.
For Gaurav Gandhi, the next chapter is about scale with intent. He outlined four priorities. Making Prime Video more accessible, pushing Indian content globally, building stronger franchises and supercharging the films business.
On films, the platform is moving beyond licensing into co productions and now theatrical releases in partnership with amazon mgm studios. These films will eventually stream on Prime Video, creating a full circle from cinema halls to living rooms across 240 countries.
Franchise building remains another key pillar. With hits like The Family Man, Mirzapur and Panchayat already enjoying multi season success, the focus is now on creating the next wave of enduring IP. Newer titles are already lining up for second seasons, signalling a steady pipeline.
What stood out through the conversation was a shared belief. Streaming in India is still in its early innings, and the runway is long. With a mix of local flavour and global ambition, Prime Video is betting that stories from India will not just stay at home, but travel far and wide.
Or as the executives seemed to suggest, the world is watching and India has plenty more to show.
