Creator aggregator One Impression said it has raised $10 million in a Series A funding round from Krafton, the maker of popular video game PUB-G.
The South Korea-based firm has so far backed Pratilipi, a publishing platform, and digital content platform Rusk Media, among others, in India.
The funds raised will be used to accelerate product development, and expand presence in other markets starting with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Southeast Asia (SEA), the company said in a statement.
“We have started making in-roads in these markets. But the foray is very small as of now,” Apaksh Gupta, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), One Impression, told YourStory in an interaction.
Founded in 2018 as creator discovery platform, One Impression currently operates as a marketplace connecting brands with content creators.
The platform has worked with about 500 brands—including Cetaphil, and Mamaearth—across India, the US, and Australia, besides other countries.
The COVID-led lockdowns accelerated the digital adoption, with people turning to the internet for a number of activities including shopping and entertainment. This also led to a crop of creators popping up to entertain viewers, who inturn earned money through brand partnerships.
“A brand can connect with creators without having to go through multiple agencies,” says Gupta. One Impression also provides the rates charged by creators for brand partnership formats including short videos, static posts, and long videos.
The platform currently claims to be working with 7 million creators, including several micro creators—that is creators with a few thousand followers on the platform.
“The creator ecosystem is at the cusp of a revolution. It holds massive untapped potential,” Sean Hyunil Sohn, CEO of KRAFTON, Inc. India, said in a statement.
