The Fund Will Be Used To Back Startups Specialising In Multi Channel Marketing, AI And Progressive Automation
Gurugram-based digital marketing solutions and concept provider iCubesWire has announced a $3 Mn innovation fund to support the growing number of early stage startups in India. Through the Digital Innovation Fund, the company aims to amplify the growth of digital startups that are striking to solve specific problems faced by customers.
The fund will be used to back early stage startups that are working in emerging verticals like artificial intelligence, progressive automation and others. Another focus would be on companies leveraging futuristic, multi-channel marketing to create monopolist business.
Speaking about the Digital Innovation Fund, iCubesWire founder and CEO Sahil Chopra stated, “Though digital marketing is in a geometric progression, there are huge gaps which are creating huge opportunities. Present in the market for 7.5 years and into product development ourselves now, we are ready to invest in early stage startups which can create value and homogeneously grow with us. With this fund, we aim to hone the potential of upcoming ideas and help them achieve greater heights. Next-gen solutions will be impeccably beneficial for the digital ecosystem and will create an environment full of innovativeness and brilliance.”
Founded in 2010, iCubesWire provides clients with 360-degree digital marketing solutions. Catering to more than 500 brands in ecommerce, automobile, technology, financial services, travel, hospitality and others, the company offers a range of services in performance and social marketing, (SMO & SMM), online reputation management (ORM), digital media buying & planning, programmatic and digital creative, video production, among others.
The client list of iCubesWire includes big names like P&G, Amazon, Flipkart, Go Air, Qatar Airways, Etihad, Air Asia, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Standard Chartered, Kotak Group, HDFC Bank, Ford, Honda, Skoda, American Express, NIIT, Tata Group, Dominos, and McDonald’s.
The company currently boasts an affiliate base of around 10,000. Of this, majority are publishers specialising in different types of content across social media, search engine, email, display, rich media and videos.
With offices in Gurugram, Mumbai, London and Phoenix, iCubesWire has a workforce of over 100 employees. To broaden its scope of operations, the startup recently launched an AI-enabled digital innovation technology. Dubbed as Instatalk, the platform facilitates instant communication with brands so that the customer’s requirements can be addressed immediately while lowering the costs through automation.
The team at iCubesWire is also in the process of launching a unified digital suite that is envisioned as a one-stop solution for all digital marketing needs.
In recent times, the company has made quite a few changes to its upper management. In the third week of September, iCubesWire appointed Sabareesh Moorthy as the Head- RDX Sales & Trading Desk at their Mumbai office. As per reports, he will head the agency account sales in the West region and set up a new initiative in the trading desk for programmatic advertising.
Earlier in June, iCubesWire hired Devinder Sharma as its Chief Growth Officer. At the moment, Sharma is responsible for 360-degree aspects of growth across the company’s offices including Gurugram and Mumbai. Back in February, the company promoted Nishant Sharma as Group Head – North. In his current role, Nishant leads business operations in the North region with a special focus on business and sales.
According to IBEF, India’s digital marketing and advertising sector is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33.5 percent to cross the $3.8 Bn (INR 25,500 Cr) mark by 2020. The Internet’s share of total digital advertising revenue is anticipated to grow two-fold from eight percent in 2013 to 16% in 2018.
Competing against companies like SVG Media, Pinstorm, Techshu, Reprise Media, and Webchutney, iCubesWire is looking to widen its reach through the newly-launched Digital Innovation Fund.
