Inshorts’ FY22 Loss Widens 1.7X YoY To $31.8 Mn As Advertising Expenses Surge To $22 Mn

New Delhi-based news aggregator Inshorts’ consolidated net loss widened 1.7X to $31.8 Mn in the financial year 2021-22 (FY22) from $18.5 Mn in FY21 as its expenses surged.

The startup’s revenue from operations increased 1.4X to $18.9 Mn in FY22 from $13 Mn in the previous fiscal year. Inshorts earns revenue primarily through advertising on its mobile app. 

Total revenue, including other income, rose 41.4% to $19 Mn from $13.5 Mn in FY21.

On the expenses front, total expenditure jumped 58.7% to $50.9 Mn in FY22 from $32.06 Mn in FY21, with advertising expenses accounting for the biggest chunk.

Inshorts advertising expenses grew 75% to $21.6 Mn from $12.3 Mn in FY21 and accounted for 42.4% of the total expenses during the year under review.  Inshorts spent $1.14 on advertising for earning every $1 from its operations.

Content expenses rose 35.6% to $10.4 Mn from $7.7 Mn in the previous fiscal year, while employee benefit expenses or personnel expenses rose 42% to $9.6 Mn from $6.8 Mn in FY21.

Employee benefit expenses comprise employee wages, ESOP conversion, gratuity, among others. The increase in employee benefit expenses indicates that the startup increased its employee headcount during the year. 

As per LinkedIn, Inshorts had around 650 employees at the start of FY22, which increased to 850 by the end of the financial year. 

Founded in 2013 by Azhar Iqubal, Anunay Arunav, and Deepit Purkayastha, Inshorts primarily summarises news across politics, sports, tech, and other areas within 60 words. The company also launched another app called Public in 2020. It is a location based social network which allows users to record and share happenings around them in video format. 

In 2021, Inshorts raised a little over $100 Mn in two rounds for the apps. Its last funding round took place in July 2021, when it raised $60 Mn led by Vy Capital. The round also saw participation from existing investors such as Tiger Global, Tanglin Venture Partners, SIG, and A91 Partners. 

Inshorts directly competes against Ver Se Innovation’s Daily Hunt. In FY22, Ver Se Innovation recorded a net loss of INR 2,563.3 Cr, a 3X jump from INR 807.9 Cr in FY21. Its revenue from operations jumped to INR 1,151 Cr in FY22 from INR 771.8 Cr in the previous fiscal year. 

However, it must be noted that Ver Se Innovation also operates Josh – a social short video platform, apart from Daily Hunt.