India-based mobile content startup Glance is reportedly looking to raise up to $250 million.
This funding round would be led by existing investor Google, Bloomberg News reported Thursday (July 18), citing a source familiar with the matter.
The round would let Glance — which makes curated screensavers that let users view things like news feeds without unlocking their smartphones — grow beyond its reach. The company has more than 300 million users in India, Indonesia, Japan and the U.S.
PYMNTS has contacted Glance and Google for comment but has not yet gotten a reply.
As Bloomberg notes, this new investment would let Google increase its footprint in India, the most populous nation on the planet, where it competes with the likes of Microsoft, Meta and Amazon.
The company in May announced it would back Indian digital commerce giant Flipkart, making Google a minority investor.
“Google’s proposed investment and its cloud collaboration will help Flipkart expand its business and advance the modernization of its digital infrastructure to serve customers across the country,” Flipkart said in the release.
Also in May, Google announced that its digital wallet was now open to users in India, with a focus on “localized experiences.”
“To start, we’ve partnered with over 20 of India’s top brands, offering one of the widest ranges of partners for any digital wallet in India,” the company wrote on its blog. “We look forward to adding more partners soon.”
Among these brands are PVR and INOX — working with Google so Android users can add movie or event tickets to their wallets — as well as partnerships with retailers like Flipkart and Dominos to allow consumers to share digital versions of loyalty and gift cards.
“We’re partnering with airlines like Air India, Air India Express and online travel companies like MakeMyTrip, Ixigo, and Easemytrip to help travelers easily save and access their mobile boarding passes in Google Wallet,” the blog post added. “Pro tip: If you own a Pixel device, take a screenshot of your boarding pass and tap ‘Add to Google Wallet.’”
Research from the PYMNTS Intelligence “2023 Global Digital Shopping Index: India Edition” shows that millennial, bridge millennial and Generation Z consumers have been India’s early adopters of digital-first shopping experiences.
These people use 17 digital shopping and payment features, on average, compared to averages of 15 in the U.S. and 12 in the U.K.