Brands
Hoopr strikes a high note with new funding round
MUMBAI: Hoopr is turning up the volume on India’s creator economy, and investors are dancing to the beat. Music licensing platform Hoopr has raised Rupees 4 crore in the first tranche of its Pre-Series A round, led by Inflection Point Ventures with participation from family offices and existing investors. The round pegs Hoopr’s post-money valuation at Rupees 160 crore and lifts its total capital raised to Rupees 18 crore. Talks are under way with additional investors as interest in the fast-growing licensing space intensifies.
The fresh capital will turbocharge Hoopr Smash, the company’s automated self-serve licensing marketplace. It will also support the expansion of Hoopr’s Hindi cinema, regional and global catalogue, unlocking new monetisation opportunities for artists, composers and labels. The company plans to bolster product innovation, expand its team and accelerate international reach by aligning its offerings with global markets.
Hoopr is also doubling down on its AI-driven capabilities, from intelligent auto-tagging and copyright detection to creative content tools. These improvements sit atop a transparent, technology-first revenue model that protects brands while ensuring fair payouts to creators.
Backed by partnerships with Yash Raj Films Music, Universal Music, Saga Music, Merchant Records and Adobe, Hoopr has emerged as a trusted player in a sector ripe for structured standards. Its collaboration with the Indian Performing Rights Society is helping introduce real-time royalty distribution and greater accountability. Over the past three years, the company has worked with more than 300 independent artists across 21 regional labels, distributing over Rupees 4.5 crore in royalties.
IPV co-founder Mitesh Shah, said the timing for Hoopr’s offering could not be better. “India’s creator economy is exploding, and Hoopr has stepped in right where people need them by making copyright-safe music simple for anyone creating digital content. Their solution lands at the perfect moment.”
Co-founder and CEO Gaurav Dagaonkar, said the company aims to shape the future of India’s creator landscape. “With 4.4 times growth since inception and 300 per cent revenue growth this year, we are expanding globally and unlocking new monetisation models. Our aim is to build the world’s most trusted and intelligent music licensing platform,” he said.
Co-founder and CRO Meghna Mittal added that technology will define the next era of music licensing. “Our AI-led approach enhances efficiency, accountability and brand protection while empowering creators. By strengthening our tech infrastructure, we are preparing Hoopr to lead this transformation.”
At the intersection of creativity, compliance and cutting-edge tech, Hoopr is positioning itself as the blueprint for how music will be created, used and commercialised in the digital age.
Brands
Delhivery chairman Deepak Kapoor, independent director Saugata Gupta quit board
Gurugram: Delhivery’s boardroom is being reset. Deepak Kapoor, chairman and independent director, has resigned with effect from April 1 as part of a planned board reconstitution, the logistics company said in an exchange filing. Saugata Gupta, managing director and chief executive of FMCG major Marico and an independent director on Delhivery’s board, has also stepped down.
Kapoor exits after an eight-year stint that included steering the company through its 2022 stock-market debut, a period that saw Delhivery transform from a venture-backed upstart into one of India’s most visible logistics platforms. Gupta, who joined the board in 2021, departs alongside him, marking a simultaneous clearing of two senior independent seats.
“Deepak and Saugata have been instrumental in our process of recognising the need for and enabling the reconstitution of the board of directors in line with our ambitious next phase of growth,” said Sahil Barua, managing director and chief executive, Delhivery. The statement frames the exits less as departures and more as deliberate succession, a boardroom shuffle timed to the company’s evolving scale and strategy.
The resignations arrive amid broader governance recalibration. In 2025, Delhivery appointed Emcure Pharmaceuticals whole-time director Namita Thapar, PB Fintech founder and chairman Yashish Dahiya, and IIM Bangalore faculty member Padmini Srinivasan as independent directors, signalling a tilt towards consumer, fintech and academic expertise at the board level.
Kapoor’s tenure spanned Delhivery’s most defining years, rapid network expansion, public listing and the push towards profitability in a bruising logistics market. Gupta’s presence brought FMCG and brand-scale perspective during a period when ecommerce volumes and last-mile delivery economics were being rewritten.
The twin exits, effective from the new financial year, underscore a familiar corporate rhythm: founders consolidate, veterans rotate out, and fresh voices are ushered in to script the next chapter. In India’s hyper-competitive logistics race, even the boardroom does not stand still.
Brands
Brnd.me enters Europe as haircare brands power global expansion
Bengaluru: Brnd.me, the global consumer brands company formerly known as Mensa Brands, has entered the European market following strong momentum across the Middle East, the United States and Canada.
The company has launched across the UK, Germany, France and Spain, with plans to expand into Italy, the Netherlands and Poland over the next year. The push is being led by its haircare and aromatherapy brands, Botanic Hearth and Majestic Pure, marking Brnd.me’s first structured expansion into Europe.
The European beauty market represents a total addressable opportunity of over $4 billion across haircare and aromatherapy, supported by high digital adoption and demand for accessible, performance-led products.
Brnd.me’s hair care and aromatherapy business currently operates at an annual run rate of around $6 million, with Botanic Hearth and Majestic Pure delivering roughly 10 per cent month-on-month growth, driven by expansion and rising repeat demand.
To support regional growth, the company has appointed a general manager based in Germany and is evaluating investments in warehousing and local team expansion.
Early traction has been strong. Within weeks of launch, Botanic Hearth’s rosemary hair oil ranked among the top five hair oils in Germany, signalling strong consumer pull in a competitive market.
Brnd.me founder and chief executive officer Ananth Narayanan, said Europe represents the next phase of the company’s international strategy. He added that the European business is expected to scale to a $10 million annual run rate by the end of 2026, with long-term ambitions to reach $60 million over the next six years.
The company’s Europe strategy centres on digital-first distribution, repeat demand and TikTok-led discovery, alongside direct-to-consumer expansion to strengthen brand equity and margins.
The move also aligns with growing EU–India trade engagement, supporting long-term sourcing and cross-border supply chains.
Brands
TechnoSport taps quick commerce with launch on Slikk’s 60-minute platform
NATIONAL: TechnoSport has launched on Slikk, the ultra-fast fashion app offering 60-minute delivery, as the activewear brand accelerates its push into quick commerce to capture Gen Z and young millennial shoppers.
The debut brings more than 150 high-performance styles to Slikk’s platform, with an average selling price of Rs 450, expanding TechnoSport’s reach across over 80 pin codes.
The partnership follows strong momentum for TechnoSport across Q-commerce channels, where the brand has recorded around 60 per cent volume growth over the past six months. The company expects quick commerce to contribute nearly 20 per cent of its revenue in the coming years as hyperlocal delivery gains scale.
Slikk, which recently raised $3.2 million in seed funding led by Lightspeed, has rapidly gained popularity among youth consumers seeking speed, trend relevance and impulse-led shopping experiences.
Activewear remains one of Slikk’s fastest-growing categories, driven by shoppers increasingly treating fitness-led fashion as an everyday essential. The platform has reported a 30-fold year-on-year increase in items sold, reflecting rising demand for performance wear that blends comfort with style.
TechnoSport chief executive officer Puspen Maity, said the collaboration would help the brand engage more closely with young consumers whose fashion choices are shaped by instant needs and lifestyle aspirations. He added that rapid delivery bridges the gap between intent and purchase, allowing shoppers to access activewear exactly when they want it.
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