MAM
Komli Media raises $30 million to strengthen leadership position in Asia Pacific
NEW DELHI: Komli Media, a digital media technology platform, recently announced that it has raised $30 million from new investor Peepul Capital.
Existing investors, Norwest Venture Partners, Nexus Venture Partners, Helion Venture Partners and Draper Fisher Jurvetson also participated in the funding. The company has raised funds to further invest in its key technology platforms and to strengthen its presence through integrated go to market solutions across the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.
“As digital advertising grows in a fast and fragmented manner, it has become critical for the industry to focus on delivering integrated solutions across social, mobile, display and video,” said Komli Media CEO Prashant Mehta. “We have already seen strong adoption of our integrated solution along with algorithmic trading. With the increased funding, we plan to deepen our focus on innovative technologies, such as real time bidding (RTB), to deliver significantly greater value to our customers.”
Komli Media has built market-leading technologies such as Remarketing on its proprietary ATOM platform that has scaled across regions by delivering strong ROI metrics in display, social and mobile. The company recently integrated ATOM into Facebook’s RTB (Real-Time-bidding) platform – Facebook Exchange (FBX), making it one of the first adoptees in the region.
“We believe that India and southeast Asia are at an inflection point in embracing digital advertising. Komli is a leading player in these key markets and with its technology platform, wide product suite and exceptional leadership team, the company should consolidate its current position even further,” said Peepul Capital investment director Venkat Shankar.
“Komli’s success story is demonstrated by a CAGR of 200 per cent achieved over the past three years driven by innovative platforms coupled with aggressive organic and inorganic investments. With this round of funding, we expect to further capitalise on the massive market opportunity and also accelerate our growth,” said Komli Media CFO Rakesh Malani.
Avendus Capital was the leading financial advisor to Komli Media on this transaction.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
