- DailyNinjaConsumer Tech
DailyNinja offers a platform enabling hyperlocal delivery of high-frequency daily need products (e.g., milk, eggs, bread, yogurt, etc.) through a subscription-based model. The Company was, arguably, one of the first grocery delivery apps that sought to digitize and automate (via subscriptions) the purchase of daily essentials that were generally perishable and needed frequent replenishment. In a bid to consolidate its subscription delivery business, BigBasket acquired DailyNinja in 2020.
- EazyDinerConsumer Tech
EazyDiner is India’s first dedicated online platform that helps users make real-time restaurant reservations and payments while offering exclusive benefits. It also provides expertly curated content, such as reviews and recommendations on dining out by renowned food critics like Vir Sanghvi.
The Company kickstarted by assisting customers with restaurant bookings when India’s dining-out culture was just picking up pace. The confluence of our strong belief in the category formed by our experience with F&B investments and the founder’s deep roots in the hospitality industry as President of The Oberoi Group impelled Saama to back the Company at an early stage.
Today, it has evolved into an end-to-end dining-out solution with the addition of a native payment solution, including credit cards for restaurant use. From browsing a curated list of dining options in the city to paying for their meals leveraging exclusive offers and privileges, patrons can use the EazyDiner platform as a one-stop shop for all their eating-out needs.
- Games2WinConsumer Tech
Games2Win (G2W) is a leading global mobile games publisher. With over 400 million downloads and over 15 million monthly active players, Games2Win is one of India’s earliest gaming plays in the consumer internet age and aims to be the largest casual gaming platform. G2W is the publisher of global hit titles such as Driving Academy, Decisions, and International Fashion Stylist.
- Now&MeConsumer Tech, Health & Wellness
Started by two 21-year-old college graduates, Now&Me is your warm, caring home on the internet. They are building a one-stop global solution for mental health anchored in a creator-community approach. Starting with an emotional support network, the Company’s platform allows users to share thoughts and experiences with compassionate strangers in a judgment-free zone with a zero-tolerance policy for abuse within the community.
The platform enables anonymous peer-to-peer interactions with 24/7 moderation that keeps bullies away and supports trigger warnings for sensitive content. Access to the forum is free and available on all devices (web and mobile), with additional expert resources continuously added. The platform offers creator-community interactions with expert Q&A sessions, blogs, community meetups, masterclasses, habit-forming wellness challenges, etc.
- People Interactive / ShaadiConsumer Tech
People Interactive is one of India’s first genuine consumer internet companies. Shaadi.com, the flagship brand of People interactive, is the world’s largest matrimonial service. It was founded with one simple objective – to provide a superior matchmaking experience to Indians worldwide. The company pioneered online matrimony in 1996 and has continued to lead the matrimony category for 25 years. The service has touched the lives of 35 million people globally and helped over 6 million people find their matches. Its sister brand, Sangam.com, is a matchmaking service created for parents looking for a life partner for their children.
- PoeticsConsumer Tech
The Company is an early-stage venture focused on building an AI platform for writers. Today, the process of writing stories is antiquated and inefficient all along the value chain. For writers, collecting, organizing, and integrating research is a monumental task, producing large quantities of words is arduous, and the rules of language are hard to follow. For producers and publishers, the process of discovering stories is biased and inefficient, good writers are not scalable, there are no reliable markers to predict success, and large amounts of money are wasted on R&D and abandonment of rejected stories.
To overcome these structural issues, Poetics is developing an app that will work as a brainstorming partner suggesting plot points for narratives in seconds, catering to passionate and aspirant novelists and short-story writers. Eventually, the Company will deploy its foundational technology to partner with publishers, producers, and agencies as the applications range beyond novels to movies, television, theatre, etc.
- SnapdealConsumer Tech
Snapdeal is India’s leading pure-play value e-commerce platform. Founded by a young, dynamic duo, the Company sought to recreate the diversity and dynamism of India’s bazaars in the online world. What started as a daily deals platform quickly emerged as one of India’s largest horizontal online marketplaces, providing a trustworthy and frictionless e-commerce ecosystem.
Saama tracked the Company from an early stage and keenly observed its evolution from a Groupon-like coupon model to a mobile-first product marketplace. We invested at the growth stage to support this evolution into one of India’s first unicorn e-commerce platforms. We exited our stake in the Company to the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan to facilitate even more rapid growth.
- STUMBLConsumer Tech
Co-founded by former Myntra, Ajio, and Amazon executives, ShoutO is building a creator-powered online apparel marketplace in India with a mission to drive the “next big social commerce wave in fashion”. ShoutO is focused on creating new and differentiated shopping features that align well with modern consumer preferences (e.g., sustainable clothing and athleisure) that have largely not been catered to by existing marketplaces.
The Company’s three-sided platform caters to creators, consumers, and brands. Creators are selectively invited to set up their multi-brand storefront on the platform, recommend products, and monetize based on traction. Consumers browse and discover styles suggested by their favorite fashion creators, thereby enjoying a more personalized and guided shopping experience. Relying on authentic discovery, engagement, and conversion via creators, brands benefit by acquiring large and highly engaged customer bases at a reduced cost.
- SupertailsConsumer Tech
Supertails is building India’s top one-stop destination for all pet care needs. Their digital platform supports the ever-increasing pet parent community by providing a single online destination for pet food and supplies, trustworthy veterinary care, and allied services (e.g., behavioral training programs). They have also launched Henlo, an in-house balanced nutrition brand for pets made from responsibly sourced ingredients and crafted by nutritionists.
Saama invested in Supertails at a pre-product, pre-revenue stage based on our conviction in a top-tier founding team with management experience at Licious and Snapdeal. Their vision is to build the largest pure-play pet e-commerce platform in India to empower pet parents throughout their parenting journey.
- TrueFanConsumer Tech
TrueFan is India’s most prominent ‘Celebrity Experience Platform’. The Company’s AI-based digital platform for celebrity-fan engagement leverages a gamified approach to help fans fulfill their dream of interacting with their favorite stars. Starting with personalized video messages from A-list Bollywood actors and actresses (e.g., Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Janhvi Kapoor, etc.), TrueFan is expanding its product offering to a complete suite of celebrity engagement experiences – ranging from exclusive content (e.g., podcasts and live streams) to celebrity-run private label brands/merchandise and AR/VR-powered metaverse events.