NDTV's smartcooky.com raises funds from Rajan Anandan, others

NDTV's e-commerce venture smartcooky, which focuses on healthy food, has raised funding from a clutch of investors including Google's Rajan Anandan and former Genpact chief Pramod Bhasin.

While the amount raised was not disclosed, NDTV said the funding valued the startup at $12 million (about Rs 80 crore).

NDTV has closed the funding for its new e-commerce venture, smartcooky.com, a platform that will sell healthy foods and personal care products from across the country through its subsidiary, Smartcooky Internet Ltd, NDTV said in a regulatory filing.

"SmartCooky Internet Ltd has raised funds at a valuation of $12 million from multiple investors. The list of investors include Rajan Anandan (Vice President and MD of Google South East Asia and India), Pramod Bhasin (Former President and CEO of Genpact), Siddharth Pai (son of TV Mohandas Pai who is Chairman of Manipal Group Education) and Manvinder Singh Banga (former Unilever executive board member)," it added.

Smartcooky is based on NDTV's current food site, food.Ndtv.com that witnesses almost three million unique visitors a month, it added.

The new content site will help in making healthy choices in the daily life by offering a well chosen selection of quality products, it said.

"We have given our audience credible, newsworthy content around health and good food. Now the natural extension is to handpick good quality products in the health space and sell them to our users," Smartcooky Director Seema Chandra said.

She added TV shows on NDTV's channels under Smartcooky will be rolled out to educate and inform viewers on making better choices.