Dailyhunt launches video only hyperlocal app Publicvibe
Following TikTok’s prohibition in 2019, Dailyhunt diversified its offerings with Josh, a short video entertainment app that raised over $550 million, earned unicorn status, and doubled its worth to over $2 billion.Dailyhunt has now taken video to the next level with the debut of Publicvibe, a new app that gives hyperlocal video-only updates on crime, politics, public concerns, and events in one’s area.
The software is available in Hindi, Telugu, and English, according to the app launched under Eterno’s Play Store account. According to Entrackr sources, Publicvibe is currently active in over ten states, including the Hindi-speaking belt (MP, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand), Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka.Publicvibe looks to be a knockoff of Inshorts’ hyperlocal video-only app Public, which is available in a dozen different languages. Dailyhunt will compete directly with Tiger Global-backed startup with its new service.
Dailyhunt purchased Hyderabad-based Publicvibe in early 2020, according to sources, and has managed to keep it under wraps until now. Formerly known as NewsDistill, PublicVibe was launched in 2015 by Narasimha Reddy Veeramreddy, a former software engineer.Ganesh Narasimhan, Ramana Thumu, and Sudhir Mallem contributed $100,000 to Publicvibe’s first round. In May 2019, it raised another round of funding from Bikky Khosla and Prashant Pahade.
“The company has been working on Publicvibe since February of this year and launched it in closed beta somewhere in June,” one of the people said on condition of anonymity.
According to Sensor Tower data, PublicVibe has been downloaded over 5.4 million times, whereas Public has been downloaded over 135 million times.Inshorts raised $60 million from Vy Capital and other current investors, including Lee Fixel’s Addition on the pitch, when company went public in August 2020.At the time of publication, Dailyhunt had declined to make any comments, including any denials.Siguler Guff, Baillie Gifford, and Carlyle Asia Partners sponsored a $450 million Series A investment for Dailyhunt’s parent company. While the company did not disclose its valuation in the previous round, sources estimate it to be worth around $2 billion.
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