Rigi gets Google investment of about Rs 10 crore at Rs 670 crore value

Rigi, a Bengaluru start-up that began as a tool for creators to sell paid communities and courses, has received an investment of about Rs 10 crore from Google International, according to regulatory filings reported on Thursday, 12 November 2026. The money came through an allotment of preference shares. The filings put Rigi's value after the deal at about Rs 670 crore, and Google's stake at about 1.43%. Neither company had announced the deal itself when the filings were reported.

A cheque of about Rs 10 crore is small by start-up standards, but the name on it is not. A stake from a Google group company gives Rigi a strategic partner at a time when it is betting on short video. Rigi TV sells micro-dramas: series of very short episodes, often a minute or two long, made for watching on a phone in portrait mode. Several Indian start-ups are now raising money to make such series in Hindi and other languages.

The shift tells a story of its own. Rigi's first business, helping creators charge fans for groups and courses, depended on the creators' own reach. A video service with original shows earns from advertising and in-app payments and can grow faster, but it also needs steady spending on content. Rigi TV has to compete with other micro-drama apps and with the short-video features of much bigger platforms.

The numbers show a company that has cut its losses but not its dependence on investors. Revenue slipped between FY24 and FY25 while the net loss narrowed. The FY26 accounts, not yet filed, will show how much of the move to Rigi TV has turned into revenue.

The deal also shows how much of India's start-up news now comes from company filings rather than announcements. Indian companies have to report share allotments to the Registrar of Companies, and those documents often reveal investments weeks before, or instead of, a press release. That is why the amounts reported here differ slightly: they come from readings of the same filings, not from a company statement.

Peepals calculation: At Rs 9.54 crore, Google's money is about 1.42% of the Rs 670 crore post-deal value (9.54 ÷ 670 ≈ 0.0142), which matches the reported 1.43% stake; a full Rs 10 crore would be about 1.49%. Between FY24 and FY25, revenue fell about 9% (from Rs 21.9 crore to Rs 19.92 crore) and the net loss narrowed about 30% (from Rs 29.3 crore to Rs 20.5 crore). Our calculation from the reported figures.

Short-term: The Google money adds to Rigi's cash as it builds Rigi TV, and the Google name may help it in talks with other investors and content partners.

Long-term: Rigi's future now rests on whether micro-dramas can earn enough from advertising and in-app purchases to cover the cost of making shows, in a crowded field.

Who is affected: Rigi's creators and viewers, Indian micro-drama producers and writers, investors in the creator economy, and rival short-video and micro-drama apps.

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