RP Sanjiv Goenka group acquires 51 per cent stake in Editorji

Kolkata-based RP Sanjiv Goenka Group (RPSG) acquired a 51 per cent stake in AI-powered news app Editorji for an undisclosed sum.

Editorji Technologies Pvt. Ltd was launched in 2018 by former chief executive officer of NDTV Ltd and news anchor Mr Vikram Chandra. The company’s estimated value is around US$ 10 million. Mr Sanjiv Goenka, chairman of RPSG, said that his company has acquired a majority stake in the online news platform.

“We had been working independently to start our own digital news venture. But Editorji came as a readymade opportunity. The way it is structured is very interesting as it is an AI-driven model. It gives simple news without judgement," he said. Mr Chandra will continue to be managing director and run the business. “We built the back-end technology and we needed scale. We have finally found a home in RPSG," Mr Chandra said, “The primary infusion will give us a runway of up to two years. We have big plans including launching an AI driven product for advertisers."

Editorji has received early investment from HT Media Ltd and Bharti Airtel Ltd with close to 5 per cent and 8 per cent stake in the company, respectively. It’s curated news playlists are available to Airtel mobile subscribers. There has been increase in the news consumption through smartphones, especially in people under 35 age. “This is something I thought would be a good fit for this age. We have plans to grow it significantly, but we do believe it is a very good place to start," Mr Goenka said.

As per the latest report by Broadcast Audience Research Council and Nielsen, consumers currently spend an average of 3 hours and 42 minutes each week, watching videos online. With growth in video consumption coming from regional language markets, Mr Goenka said he is keen to turn Editorji into a multilingual product, starting with Bengali.

“We will go vernacular. We cannot go to every regional market immediately, but we will look at India 2, in a manner of speaking. We may start with Kolkata where we have a distribution network. There are 35 lakh homes and 70 lakh consumers. Even if 10 per cent download the app, that is 7-8 lakh people," he added.

Mr Goenka added that the issue of monetization of digital properties cannot be resolved in the short term. “Our horizon is not 3 to 6 months. It is a longer-term horizon. We want to scale the subscriber base."

Mr Goenka, who also runs the general news magazine Open, recently acquired rights to publish the business magazine Fortune in India.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.