Hyderabad, 27th June 2018: Anthill Ventures, an investment and scaling platform for early-stage startups, today announced that its accelerator program called Anthill Studio in partnership with film production and distribution company, Suresh Productions, has strategically partnered with Viacom18. This partnership will enable Anthill Studio to provide additional market-access opportunities to the startups of Anthill Studio.
Anthill Studio is an accelerator program focused on technology startups in Media & Entertainment. The program will scout for startups building products for Media & Entertainment industry using technologies such as AI/ML, AR/VR, IoT, Big Data, Blockchain and others. The areas of focus include filmed entertainment, TV, gaming and digital media industries.
Viacom18 is one of the biggest media networks in India and is committed to nurturing the Indian startups. With that intent, Viacom18 launched a dedicated Startup Engagement Program, VStEP, in October last year.
“Viacom18 has emerged as a prominent entertainment network and is a key enabler of sustained innovation & thought leadership. For our program, Anthill Studio, Viacom18 will act as a catalyst to create the desired ecosystem for startups by providing easy access to the media & entertainment market” said Prasad Vanga, Founder & CEO, Anthill Ventures.
Viacom18, through VStEP, as a Market-access partner will be providing startups with business & technology mentorship, along with an opportunity to scale by collaborating with them on prototypes, strategic partnerships and other commercial opportunities.
“Our partnership with Anthill Ventures, will bring disruptive innovations to media businesses. We are looking at tech innovations especially in the areas of AI, ML, Automation for our TV, Films and digital business”, said Achint Setia, Senior Vice President, Viacom18 Digital Ventures and Head, VStEP.
About Anthill Ventures:
Anthill Ventures is a premier, global speed scaling ecosystem for startups. Its unique ability is to invest, rapidly scale early-stage companies, subsequently enabling them to raise funding within 12 to 18 months. Its dedicated team spread across Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore and Singapore enables the startups with an extensive global network of Venture Capitalists, Private Equity firms, Family Offices, and Luminaries in the technology industry. Anthill Venture primarily focuses on exciting tech startups in verticals such as Fintech, HealthTech, Life Sciences, Media and Entertainment and Smart Cities.
About Anthill Studio:
Anthill Studio is a business accelerator program for Media & Entertainment technology startups. It is designed to help the selected startups scale with speed by securing industry connections, technology mentoring, business growth and access to smart capital. The accelerator program enables its startups to work on real use cases and deploy their products and solutions in real client engagements. Selected startups have the opportunity to raise up to $1 million in funding from Anthill Ventures.
About Viacom 18:
Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd. is one of India’s fastest growing entertainment networks and a house of iconic brands that offers multi-platform, multi-generational and multicultural brand experiences. A joint venture of TV18, which owns 51%, and Viacom Inc., with a 49% stake, Viacom18 defines entertainment in India by touching the lives of people through its properties on air, online, on ground, in shop and through cinema.
About VStEP:
The Viacom18 Startup Engagement Program – VStEP is an initiative by Viacom18 to collaborate with growth stage Startups to step forward together in the fast-evolving world of Media and Entertainment. VStEP is a pilot-driven program wherein select Startups will get to work with internal business units of Viacom18 and jointly deliver innovation pilots across various business operations, verticals and functions.
