MAM
WebEngage raises $20 mn in Series B round led by Singularity Growth & SWC Global
Mumbai: WebEngage announced a $20 million Series B round led by Singularity Growth Opportunities Fund and SWC Global, with participation from existing investors India Quotient, Blume Ventures, and IAN Fund recently.
The round also saw participation from a few family offices, including the likes of Unmaj Corporation, NB Ventures, Shashwat Nakrani (cofounder of BharatPe), and Gopal Srinivasan (chairman, TVS Capital), amongst others.
WebEngage has showcased unusual frugality and resilience in its 11-year journey filled with ups and downs, burning only six million dollars in capital to reach a $20 million annual revenue run rate, an enviable position to be in.
Peers in SaaS spend about 3x to 5x more to get to the same scale. The company is working with over six hundred clients, including new-economy and internet-first businesses, as well as propelling the digital transformation journey for enterprise clients.
The funds will be used to maintain WebEngage’s rapid growth—it is up 100 per cent year-on-year and has expanded operations to India, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. The company’s team strength has increased 2.5x since 2020 with strategic high-profile hires across the marketing, sales, product, engineering, and support functions. Recent customer wins like Adani Group in India and IKEA in Saudi Arabia have validated enterprise acceptance of the WebEngage offering.
Speaking about this new milestone, WebEngage co-founder and CEO Avlesh Singh said, “We are absolutely delighted to have Singularity Growth Opportunities Fund and SWC Global as our new partners and are blessed to have existing partners double down on their confidence in us. The ride has just begun and we have the tickets to the front row seats for anyone who wants to join our journey of simplifying retention for the world.”
Commenting on the engagement with WebEngage, Singularity Growth Opportunities Fund managing partner Apurva Patel said, “WebEngage’s comprehensive customer engagement platform truly empowers companies to listen to their customers better, to understand their behaviour deeply by smartly segmenting customers, and to act on that knowledge in a way that is personal. What fascinated us about Avlesh and his team is their ability to gain traction with not only digital businesses, but also with large traditional enterprises. We were also very impressed with customer feedback on the company’s superior customer service and support, and believe this to be their key competitive advantage. Singularity Growth is thrilled to be part of WebEngage’s growth journey in both India and overseas.”
“We have always believed that the best teams build the best products, and in the long run, it’s the best product that wins. This is our 4th investment in WebEngage and we will continue to back them as far as we can. WebEngage also demonstrates our belief that companies that win SaaS in India can go global and repeat their performance,” concluded India Quotient founding partner Anand Lunia.
MAM
Paramount set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in $81 billion deal
Shareholders back merger, combined entity could reshape streaming and studios.
MUMBAI: Lights, camera… consolidation, Hollywood’s latest blockbuster might be happening off-screen. Shareholders of Warner Bros. Discovery have voted in favour of selling the company to Paramount in a deal valued at $81 billion rising to nearly $111 billion including debt setting the stage for one of the biggest shake-ups in modern media. The proposed merger, still subject to regulatory approvals, would bring together a vast portfolio spanning HBO Max, CNN, and franchises such as Harry Potter under the same umbrella as Paramount’s own heavyweights, including Top Gun and CBS.
At the heart of the deal is streaming scale. Executives have indicated plans to combine HBO Max and Paramount+ into a single platform, potentially creating a stronger challenger to giants like Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video. Current market data suggests HBO Max holds around 12 per cent of US on-demand subscriptions, compared to Paramount+’s 3 per cent, together still trailing Netflix’s 19 per cent and Disney’s combined 27 per cent via Disney+ and Hulu.
Paramount CEO David Ellison has signalled that while platforms may merge, HBO’s creative identity will remain intact, stating the brand should “stay HBO” even within a broader ecosystem.
Beyond streaming, the deal would redraw the map for film production. Combining two of Hollywood’s oldest studios Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros., the new entity aims to scale output to over 30 films annually, while maintaining a 45-day theatrical window. Warner Bros. currently commands around 21 per cent of the US box office, compared to Paramount’s 6 per cent, underscoring the strategic weight of the acquisition.
But scale comes with scrutiny. Critics warn that fewer players could mean reduced consumer choice, rising subscription costs, and potential job cuts as the combined company looks to streamline overlapping operations while managing billions in debt.
The news business, too, faces a reset. CNN would join forces at least structurally with Paramount-owned CBS, raising questions about editorial independence and positioning. The merger has already drawn political attention in the United States, particularly given perceived ties between the Ellison family and Donald Trump, though the company maintains that newsroom autonomy will be preserved.
If approved, the deal would mark another milestone in Hollywood’s consolidation wave shrinking the industry’s traditional “big six” studios to a “big four”, with Paramount joining Disney, Universal, and Sony at the top table.
In an industry built on storytelling, this merger may well become its most consequential plot twist yet.
