Shaadi.com to pick 25% in dating start-up Thrill

Thrill allows women to request an audio or video verification call from men, thereby providing an additional level of safety

Anupam Mittal-led People Group owner of matrimonial portal Shaadi.com has invested Rs 6 crore in popular dating app Thrill. This investment will give shaadi.com 25% minority stake in the app.

Keeping women's safety as a priority, the app gives women the power to instantly match with whomever they please, while men can only express interest by finding someone thrilling.

Thrill also allows women to request an audio or video verification call from men, thereby providing an additional level of safety.

Video verification calls can be made by women with their cameras turned off, and can be used to ensure a male user is the same person as his pictures. Audio verification allows female users to have a phone conversation with a match without actually providing their phone numbers.

Anupam Mittal, Founder and CEO of People Group, "While online match-making is already a well-established practise in India, dating is also gaining a lot of popularity with the Indian youth. The Thrill app packs in loads of innovation that's 'Made for India', and already has built a strong appeal with young India. To sum it up, we are quite 'thrilled' to be a part of their journey."

Josh Israel and Devin Serago co-founded Thrill in 2012. Both re-located from the United States to New Delhi, India to launch and grow their mobile dating app, Thrill.

The app is currently live on Android and iOS and has closed a seed round of funding from investors including Samir Bangara, previously COO of IndiaGames, now Co-Founder of Qyuki, Rajesh Kamat, COO of CA Media, and others in India, Singapore and the US.

"We were told that India is conservative and wasn't ready for something like this, but with fewer opportunities to go out and explore meeting someone, there is a huge demand for this segment. No one was building a dating app focused on India, but with the growing smart phone market and shifting user mindset, we are witnessing a tremendous response for Thrill," said Josh Israel, Co-founder, Thrill.