Brands
Hoopr strikes a high note with new funding round
MUMBAI: Hoopr is turning up the volume on India’s creator economy, and investors are dancing to the beat. Music licensing platform Hoopr has raised Rupees 4 crore in the first tranche of its Pre-Series A round, led by Inflection Point Ventures with participation from family offices and existing investors. The round pegs Hoopr’s post-money valuation at Rupees 160 crore and lifts its total capital raised to Rupees 18 crore. Talks are under way with additional investors as interest in the fast-growing licensing space intensifies.
The fresh capital will turbocharge Hoopr Smash, the company’s automated self-serve licensing marketplace. It will also support the expansion of Hoopr’s Hindi cinema, regional and global catalogue, unlocking new monetisation opportunities for artists, composers and labels. The company plans to bolster product innovation, expand its team and accelerate international reach by aligning its offerings with global markets.
Hoopr is also doubling down on its AI-driven capabilities, from intelligent auto-tagging and copyright detection to creative content tools. These improvements sit atop a transparent, technology-first revenue model that protects brands while ensuring fair payouts to creators.
Backed by partnerships with Yash Raj Films Music, Universal Music, Saga Music, Merchant Records and Adobe, Hoopr has emerged as a trusted player in a sector ripe for structured standards. Its collaboration with the Indian Performing Rights Society is helping introduce real-time royalty distribution and greater accountability. Over the past three years, the company has worked with more than 300 independent artists across 21 regional labels, distributing over Rupees 4.5 crore in royalties.
IPV co-founder Mitesh Shah, said the timing for Hoopr’s offering could not be better. “India’s creator economy is exploding, and Hoopr has stepped in right where people need them by making copyright-safe music simple for anyone creating digital content. Their solution lands at the perfect moment.”
Co-founder and CEO Gaurav Dagaonkar, said the company aims to shape the future of India’s creator landscape. “With 4.4 times growth since inception and 300 per cent revenue growth this year, we are expanding globally and unlocking new monetisation models. Our aim is to build the world’s most trusted and intelligent music licensing platform,” he said.
Co-founder and CRO Meghna Mittal added that technology will define the next era of music licensing. “Our AI-led approach enhances efficiency, accountability and brand protection while empowering creators. By strengthening our tech infrastructure, we are preparing Hoopr to lead this transformation.”
At the intersection of creativity, compliance and cutting-edge tech, Hoopr is positioning itself as the blueprint for how music will be created, used and commercialised in the digital age.
Brands
UK’s OnlyFans seeks US investor at $3bn valuation after owner’s death
The adult video platform is seeking stability after the death of its billionaire owner
LONDON: OnlyFans is looking for a new partner. The London-based adult video platform is in advanced talks to sell a minority stake of less than 20 per cent to Architect Capital, a San Francisco-based investment firm, in a deal that would value the business at more than $3bn (£2.2bn).
The move is driven by an urgent need for stability. Leonid Radvinsky, the Ukrainian-American billionaire who owned OnlyFans, died of cancer last month at the age of 43, leaving the future of one of Britain’s most profitable privately held businesses suddenly uncertain.
The choice of Architect Capital is not arbitrary. The firm has deep expertise in financial services, which aligns neatly with OnlyFans’ ambitions to offer banking products to its creators, many of whom have long struggled to access basic financial services because of the nature of their work.
The numbers behind OnlyFans are, by any measure, staggering. The platform posted revenues of $1.4bn in the year to 30th November 2024, with a pre-tax profit of $684m, up four per cent on the prior year. Payments to creators totalled $7.2bn over the same period, a rise of nearly ten per cent. Radvinsky personally collected $701m in dividends from the business in 2024 alone, on top of more than $1bn in such payments he had already received. The platform, run through its parent company Felix International, hosts 4.6m creator accounts, with performers keeping 80 per cent of subscription proceeds and the platform pocketing the remaining 20 per cent. It has 377m fan accounts in total.
The current minority stake talks represent a notable scaling back of ambitions. In January, OnlyFans was reported to be in discussions with Architect about selling a majority stake of 60 per cent. Before that, the company had explored a sale to a consortium led by Forest Road Company, a Los Angeles-based investment firm. Neither deal materialised.
OnlyFans has built an enormously lucrative business on content that mainstream finance has long refused to touch. Now, with its owner gone and a $3bn valuation on the table, it is looking for the kind of respectable institutional backing that might finally persuade the banks to take its calls.
