Brands
Win a place on the sets of the first IKEA India commercial
MUMBAI: IKEA, the Swedish home furnishings company, today announced a contest in which the winners will experience behind-the-scenes of its first TV commercial to be shot in Bangkok. IKEA is ready to launch its first store in India in Hyderabad soon to be followed by Mumbai in 2019. The contest is open till May 10, 2018 for IKEA Family members (loyalty program of IKEA) in Hyderabad and Mumbai. Two members who get the maximum number of people from Mumbai and Hyderabad to join IKEA Family between 3-10 May, will be chosen winners. The three-day trip to Bangkok will include behind-the-scenes on the sets of IKEA India’s first ever TV commercial where winners will also meet IKEA’s interior designers, a day of sight-seeing with family and a visit to the IKEA store in Bangkok to experience IKEA solutions even before the store opens in India.
“The IKEA Family members have been eagerly waiting for the store launch. During our interactions with them, they spoke of their enthusiasm to get a feel and touch of the IKEA experience beyond the Hej Home, our experience centre in Hyderabad. We thought the contest was great way to give this feel and touch experience,” said Neha Jindal, Country IKEA Loyalty Manager, IKEA India.
MRM McCann is the agency behind the contest while Dentsu is the creative agency behind the commercial.
Brands
Aman Gupta’s OFF/BEAT secures Rs 100 crore seed funding round
Bessemer backs new venture betting on AI and India’s digital shift
MUMBAI: Aman Gupta has raised Rs 100 crore in seed funding for his new venture OFF/BEAT, with Bessemer Venture Partners leading the round as it bets on a new wave of AI-led, consumer-first businesses in India.
The funding marks an early but significant push for OFF/BEAT, which is positioned to tap into a rapidly evolving market shaped by a digitally native generation and advances in artificial intelligence. The venture aims to build at the intersection of culture and technology, where brand identity and innovation increasingly go hand in hand.
Gupta, best known for co-founding boAt and scaling it into a Rs 3,000 crore-plus business, is now looking to apply those learnings to a new playbook. His focus this time is not just on building a consumer brand, but on leveraging AI and global networks to accelerate growth.
OFF/BEAT founder Aman Gupta said, “Having built from scratch before, I know what capital can do and what it cannot. This time, I was looking for partners with a global perspective who can help me leverage technology and AI, because that is where the future lies. Bessemer’s track record with companies like Anthropic, Shopify, Canva and LinkedIn says it all.”
The choice of investor reflects that ambition. Bessemer Venture Partners has backed global technology players such as Anthropic, Shopify, Canva and LinkedIn, bringing not just capital but strategic support and global reach.
Bessemer Venture Partners partner Anant Vidur Puri said, “We back founders who see around corners. Aman saw how a new India would come to think about aspiration, identity and quality, and built boAt as proof. He is now applying that same instinct to a market being reshaped by AI and by a generation with entirely new expectations.”
The investment comes at a time when India’s startup ecosystem is being reshaped by both consumer behaviour and technological disruption. Founders are increasingly expected to understand not just products, but the cultural shifts that drive adoption.
For OFF/BEAT, the journey is just beginning, but the signal is clear. In a market where attention is fleeting and expectations are rising, building something truly distinctive may be the only way to stay on beat.
