Google has quietly bought a small piece of an Indian startup that sits right where creator monetization meets bite-sized streaming. According to Entrackr‘s Kunal Manchanada, Bengaluru-based Rigi has raised Rs 10 crore from Google International, based on regulatory documents the outlet reviewed.
The deal in numbers
Rigi’s board approved the allotment of 1,543 preference shares at Rs 61,796 each, Entrackr reported. That gives Google a 1.43% stake and puts Rigi’s post-money valuation at around Rs 670 crore. According to Livemint‘s Jocelyn Fernandes, that works out to roughly $1.07 million invested at a valuation of about $79 million.
It’s a small check by Google’s standards, but it marks the tech giant’s first appearance on Rigi’s shareholder list.
From paid communities to micro-dramas
Swapnil Saurav and Ananya Singhal founded Rigi in 2021 to help creators, influencers and celebrities turn a following into income. The platform let them run paid communities on WhatsApp and Telegram, manage subscriptions, and sell digital products like courses, webinars, workshops and one-on-one mentorship. Rigi makes its money from fees on those transactions.
The company has since branched into entertainment with Rigi TV, a short-form video app built around original shows and micro-dramas. Livemint noted the service is ad-based, so viewers can watch without a subscription, with in-app purchases layered on top.
According to Storyboard18, both founders addressed the news on social media. Singhal wrote that with Google joining the shareholder base, “we’re excited to see the team continue expanding its presence in short-form entertainment.” Saurav argued that micro-dramas finally make the economics of free entertainment for a mass Indian audience work, describing “an opportunity to build a large, ad-supported entertainment platform for Bharat.”
Where Rigi stands financially
Rigi previously raised around Rs 100 crore in January 2023 in a round led by Elevation Capital, with Accel, Stellaris Venture Partners and Sequoia Capital also taking part, Entrackr reported. In the fiscal year that ended March 2025, the startup posted Rs 19.92 crore in revenue and a net loss of Rs 20.5 crore. It has not yet filed results for FY26.
Livemint added that the founders are BITS Pilani alumni whose earlier venture, the real-money gaming platform HalaPlay, was acquired by Nazara Technologies and Delta Corp in 2020.
The takeaway
Rigi’s path says a lot about where creator platforms are heading. Selling subscriptions and courses to a creator’s fans is a fee business with a ceiling. Free, ad-supported short-form drama aims at a far bigger audience. Google’s stake is tiny, but it’s a signal that the company sees micro-dramas, and the creator tools that feed them, as worth a seat at the table in India.
Image: AI-generated illustration.
