MAM
IndianOil Ultimate Table Tennis launches ‘Time To Turn The Tables Around’ OOH campaign
Mumbai: IndianOil Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) has teamed up with the official outdoor partner Mera Hoardings for the innovative ‘Time To Turn The Tables Around’ outdoor campaign as it gears up for the upcoming fifth season, to be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai from 22 August to 7 September.
As part of the campaign, striking inverted hoardings, featuring table tennis stars Achanta Sharath Kamal, Manika Batra, Harmeet Desai, Sathiyan Gnanasekaran and Manav Thakkar, are spread across Chennai from today, captivating both locals and visitors. These eye-catching displays showcase the Indian table tennis icons upside-down against the city skyline, delivering a compelling message: It’s time to ‘turn the tables’ and shift the perception of India from being a cricket-centric nation to one that celebrates a vibrant and diverse sporting ecosystem.
“Our players are making their mark at the Paris Olympics, garnering much-deserved spotlight for the sport with Manika Batra and Sreeja raising their game. To complement their efforts, our OOH campaign aims to package the sport innovatively at the right time to reach a larger audience,” said UTT promoters Vita Dani and Niraj Bajaj.
This inventive ‘inverted’ OOH campaign not only amplifies the game’s visibility but also highlights UTT’s transformative impact over the past five years. As table tennis has grown from a niche sport to a significant discipline within India’s sporting landscape, the league has been one of its most passionate advocates and prominent contributors.
Extending their commitment to promoting Indian table tennis, UTT recently caught the attention of the global audience with the help of Mera Hoardings when the league’s promotion was featured on the iconic Times Square billboard in New York.
The IndianOil UTT 2024 is the biggest edition of the league as, for the first time since its inception in 2017, eight teams will fight for the crown, with Ahmedabad SG Pipers and Jaipur Patriots joining PBG Bengaluru Smashers, Chennai Lions, Dabang Delhi TTC, Goa Challengers, U Mumba TT, and Puneri Paltan Table Tennis. The league is promoted by Niraj Bajaj and Vita Dani under the aegis of the Table Tennis Federation of India.
The league’s last season garnered an astounding 55.2 million views and achieved a reach of 62.1 million across digital platforms. The engagement was equally remarkable, with 1.2 million fan interactions throughout the event. The total media sponsorship value soared to 55.8 crore (6.7 million), underscoring the sport’s growing prominence. Viewership was robust with 195 million minutes watched in just 18 days. The live broadcasts attracted six million viewers, while an additional nine million tuned in through non-live content, reflecting the widespread and enduring interest in table tennis.
This dynamic and innovative month-long campaign will coincide with the much-anticipated fifth edition of the league which is set to witness high-voltage action with the participation of star Indian paddlers, including Manika Batra, Sharath Kamal, Sreeja Akula, and Sathiyan, alongside some of the world’s top players such as world number 13 Bernadette Szocs and Nigerian legend Quadri Aruna.
Brands
SatLeo Labs raises $5.5m seed funding led by Unicorn India Ventures
Fresh capital to power thermal satellite mission and AI data platform
MUMBAI: SatLeo Labs has raised $2.2 million in a fresh seed round led by Unicorn India Ventures, taking its total funding to $5.5 million as it steps up efforts to scale its space-based thermal intelligence platform.
The funding round also saw participation from existing backers including Merak Ventures, Java Capital, IIMA-CIIE and deep-tech investor Manish Gandhi.
The capital will be used to accelerate SatLeo’s flagship thermal satellite mission and further develop its AI-powered platform designed to deliver high-resolution thermal and visible data from low Earth orbit. The company aims to turn this data into actionable insights for sectors ranging from climate monitoring to urban planning.
Over the past year, SatLeo has scaled rapidly, growing its team from 8 to 30 specialists across satellite engineering, thermal sensing and AI-led geospatial analytics. It has also achieved a key milestone with the development of its first experimental payload, TAPAS-1, which reached near flight-ready status within six months and is now positioned for launch.
On the ground, the startup has begun translating its technology into real-world use cases. Pilot projects in cities such as Ahmedabad and Tumakuru have focused on monitoring urban heat islands and air pollution, impacting over 400,000 citizens. At the same time, its commercial pipeline has expanded sharply, with letters of intent rising from around $15 million to over $42 million within a year.
SatLeo Labs co-founder and CEO Shravan Bhati said, “Sustainability has become imperative amid accelerating climate change and rapid urbanisation. This fundraise represents a critical milestone as we move into the execution phase of our next mission.”
He added that the company is focused on scaling its satellite constellation and enhancing payload performance to deliver thermal intelligence at a global level.
Backing the startup, Unicorn India Ventures managing partner Bhaskar Majumdar said, “Space is an arena where the next wave of technological innovation will emerge. SatLeo’s ability to combine thermal and visible satellite data into real-time insights positions it strongly for long-term growth.”
Looking ahead, SatLeo plans to focus on launch readiness, expanding commercial deployments and scaling its technology stack over the next 12 months.
As demand for climate and environmental intelligence grows, SatLeo’s latest fundraise signals rising investor confidence in space-tech solutions that bring data from orbit down to everyday decision-making.
