Flam Bags $4.5 Mn To Help Brands Create Mixed Reality Content

Mixed reality (MR) startup Flam has raised INR 38 Cr ($4.5 Mn) in its pre-Series A funding round from institutional investors such as Turbostart, Twin Ventures, Alphatron Capital and undisclosed angel investors and family offices. 

The funding round also saw participation from the startup’s existing investors such as Inventus Capital Partners, SVQ, and 9Unicorns. 

In a statement, the startup said that it will use the capital to expand its footprint in markets such as North America, Europe, and the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region.

Founded in 2021 by Shourya Agarwal, Flam helps brands publish interactive MR content, which can be accessed via mobile cameras. It claims that its proprietary technology is scalable and can serve billions of users. 

It leverages AI, image recognition technology as well as image and ground tracking to optimise 3D graphics and enable creation and deployment of MR content. 

Commenting on the funding, Flam cofounder and CEO Agarwal said, “… Our platform is dedicated to making MR accessible to the masses. Following the viral success of Britannia’s MR ad featuring Ranveer Singh, we’ve attracted interest from 100s of global brands across various industries. Just like video ads, MR will become permanent in the brand’s marketing strategies worldwide.” 

Meanwhile, Vishwesh Pai, founding partner at Alphatron Capital, said, “We’ve been observing huge interest from brands and delight among consumers for MR, which makes us extremely optimistic about the future of this space. After interacting with Flam, we instantly knew we had found a missing ingredient in MR’s adoption. Beyond their sophisticated technology, the way they have solved the creation and distribution of MR is truly commendable.”

Flam last raised $3.5 Mn in its seed funding round led by Silicon Valley Quad and Inventus Capital Partners SV in 2021.

The startup claims to have so far catered to brands such as Britannia, Netflix, Wargaming, AJIO, and WPP.

The fundraise comes at a time when more and more Indian brands are using augmented reality (AR) and extended reality (XR) to market their products and engage their audiences. The immersive experiences offered by these technologies enable businesses to offer differentiated offerings to customers and stand apart from the crowd. 

As a result, the Indian extended reality landscape is witnessing major growth and is witnessing renewed interest from investors. In February this year, virtual reality (VR) and AR startup AutoVRse bagged $2 Mn in a seed funding round led by Lumikai.

As per a report, the Indian AR and VR market is projected to soar to a size of $1.2 Bn by 2029.