Glance invests in Collective Artists Network

Glance, a part of SoftBank-backed InMobi Group, on Monday said it has made an investment in talent management organisation, Collective Artists Network. The company, however, did not disclose any financial details.

“This collaboration is expected to give Glance strategic access to India’s top creators and celebrities, while providing disruptive and sustainable monetization opportunities for the country’s entertainment talent. “Glance is already in advanced discussions for partnerships with some of these celebrities and creators as a result of this investment,” a statement said.

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These partnerships are expected to help power live content on Glance lock screen, and drive entertainment-led commerce on Roposo (short video platform that is part of Glance), it added. Notably, in July this year, Glance had formed a joint venture with Collective Artists Network to co-create and operate brands in partnership with celebrities and social media influencers. The JV company – Glance Collective – was formed to co-create and operate multiple unique brands in partnership with top celebrities and social media influencers.

Glance delivers artificial intelligence-driven personalised content to the lock screen of Android smartphones. It has over 150 million active users in India, and an estimated 25 million in Southeast Asia. “With the scale, technology and monetisation capabilities of Glance and Roposo, and Collective’s access to some of India’s leading talent across Cinema, OTT, television, music, sports, digital and regional industries, the two companies are now well-positioned to power India’s creator economy,” the statement said on Monday.

InMobi Group co-founder and Glance President and COO Piyush Shah said creator-led live content and commerce is the future of entertainment and e-commerce. “… We intend to be at the forefront of this evolution. This strategic investment in Collective Artists Network is a step in that direction, and allows us to forge meaningful, long-term synergies within the creator ecosystem. Our vision is to enable creators to go from being just entertainers to ‘creator-preneurs’; be it through live entertainment content, or through a variety of lucrative avenues for commerce, on both Glance and Roposo,” he added.

Vijay Subramaniam, Group CEO and founder of Collective Artists Network, said with the worlds of content and commerce merging, celebrities and creators are increasingly looking at newer avenues of growth and want to partner with platforms that not only have scale, but also provide great economic opportunities. “Glance and Collective are committed towards building a sustainable economy for creators, wherein they can become partners and entrepreneurs. This is an innovative partnership in our business and with Glance’s scale and our large network this will provide a significant opportunity for the creator ecosystem, he added.