Event Tech Startup Ticket9 Ropes In Actor Nayanthara As Investor
Summary
I truly believe in its potential, and together we can soar with this user-friendly platform, making a significant impact in both the entertainment industry and the event space, Shivan said.The entertainment industry in India is evolving rapidly, with technology reshaping how people experience live events. Our mission is to seamlessly merge technology with entertainment, creating effortless, enjoyable experiences for organizers and attendees alike, said Premraj.The startup claims to have raised $200K in its pre-seed round last year from notable investors, including M2P cofounder Prabhu Rangarajan, bitsCrunch founder and CEO Vijay Pravin Maharajan and CTO Ashok Vardharajan, Ippopays founder and CEO Mohan K, and CTO Jaikumar.Other investors include Growfins Head of AI and ML Sudalai Rajkumar, Wilcosource cofounder Sundararaman Ramasamy and Witrees CTO Selvamuthukumar along with angels from the US, Singapore, Australia and Bangkok.Ticket9 competes against the likes of BookMyShow, Paytm Insider (now called District after Zomatos acquisition), and EventsNow, among others in the SaaS-based event ticketing platform.This is not the first time that the actor-director duo has invested in a startup. The couple invested an undisclosed amount of funding in The Divine Foods last December.The development comes at the heart of several Indian startups roping in actors and celebrities as investors.The year 2023 witnessed a record year for celebrity investors, with Inc42 reporting over 19 personalities infusing capital into 26 startups, including prominent figures like Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty.Heres a glimpse at some of these celebrities whove made waves in the Indian startup landscape.Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt launched her D2C kidswear brand Ed-a-Mamma in 2020, which has now become a majority-owned subsidiary of Reliance Retail. Kriti Sanon entered the fitness market with The Tribe and co-founded skincare brand Hyphen.Former cricket captain MS Dhoni is the brand ambassador and part-owner of SEVEN, while Preity Zinta co-founded DRIVE FITT, a gym facility. Priyanka Chopra Jonas created Anomaly, a haircare brand, and Rakul Preet Singh launched Starring You, a talent discovery platform.