Crater, an interactive media platform, on Tuesday, announced that it has raised $700,000 in seed funding from LC Nueva AIF, Director of TransContinental Venture Fund, as well as angel investors including

Prakash Mody, CEO of Unichem, Naresh Wadhwa, President Asia Pacific and Japan- Arista Networks and others.

The funds will be used towards further product development and growth of the platform.

Vignesh Prasad, Co-founder, and CTO of Crater said,

“On Crater, you can join live streams with creators and mentors, have curated interactions with peers and take part in live auctions. Our goal is to enable creators and mentors with distribution, engagement and monetisation. While 56 percent of creators create content in the entertainment and gaming sector, we are focusing on the other 44 percent that includes content created by stock traders, marketers, advisors and designers.”

Bengaluru-based startup Crater sees itself as Twitch meets Linkedin 2.0. Launched initially under the brand name of WorkNetwork, now rebranded to Crater.Club, the platform already claims to have over 5,000 creators and mentors. In the next few weeks, Crater will be launching a monetisation tool.

Crater aims to be the end-to-end solution for distribution, engagement, and monetisation for creators and mentors. 

Vivan Puri, Co-founder, and CEO of Crater added,

“Clubhouse, Twitch, Tiktok, etc, have all democratised access to creators in the domains of gaming and entertainment. Furthermore, they have provided new ways to distribute and monetise content. But in the social-professional space, we are yet to see such a platform. On Crater, millennials can join live streams, where creators and mentors share their knowledge and skills. They can meet peers via curated 1-on-1 interactions. And take part in live auctions to buy tickets that unlock exclusive access to the creators and mentors they follow.”

The founding team of Crater comprises Georgia Tech and NYU graduates. Crater's team members have previously worked at HealthifyMe, Piggy, Tilt (Airbnb). The startup is currently focused on the Indian market but plans to build for a global audience.

Commenting on the announcement, Jayendra Shah, Director of TCVF, said,

“More people will seek to connect with others and will seek out exclusive content. At the same time, we will see the rise of more independent creators and people creating informational content. Consequently, making Crater the need of the hour. We are super excited to be one of the early investors in Crater and support Vivan, Vignesh, and the rest of the team in building a social-professional network with creators and mentors, front and centre.”

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