After Flipkart, Tiger Global weighs Saavn's potential

New Delhi: Saavn, a music streaming company, has announced that it is closing $100 million in a pivotal new funding round led by Tiger Global Management and the fresh capital will be used to drive long-term product development and aggressive customer acquisition.

In addition, the company is investing in its proprietary ad technology, growing the sales force, and inking new content deals.

As India becomes the leading market for Android handset growth, Saavn is growing monthly active users by over one million users a month. Since announcing 11 million monthly active users in Q1 2015, the company has increased its monthly active user base to 14 million users. Saavn is positioned to cross 20 million users by the end of the year.

The company has just released a major update to its Android product, with an iOS update to follow in the coming weeks. The company is also working with teams at Microsoft to launch Saavn on Windows in August 2015.

In addition to Tiger Global Management, existing investors Bertelsmann India Investments, Steadview Capital, Liberty Media, and Mousse Partners are participating in Saavn’s Series C round. The company is adding new global investors Quilvest, additional Hong Kong-based hedge funds, and a number of strategic individuals in this round. Advisory for the round was led by Avendus Capital in Mumbai and LionTree Advisors in New York.

“Music streaming is at the center of the music industry, and India is one of the most important music economies in the world. With 2 million Androids shipping each week, music is driving data consumption and redefining mobile advertising. Our investors continue to be the best partners in the world. We’re excited to add millions of users to the Saavn family and deliver our long-term product vision across multiple platforms,” said Rishi Malhotra, CEO & Co-Founder of Saavn.

Leading Saavn’s latest round is Tiger Global Management, which has invested in some of India’s most prominent Internet companies, such as Flipkart, Ola Cabs, Hike Messenger, and Culture Machine.

“We’re excited to support Saavn as it continues to define India’s mobile entertainment market,” said Lee Fixel, Partner at Tiger Global Management.

With more than 90 percent of Saavn usage on mobile, the company is also announcing a significant update to its mobile products including personalized multi-language homescreen supporting 11 languages; infinite scroll on homescreen; “One-Click Play” on homescreen, new & trending content along with enhanced personalization in “My Music”; additional charts, including top “rewind” charts by decade for all 11 languages; and enhanced music tagging and music chat features for Saavn Social.