Indian news aggregator Dailyhunt says it will attract 325 million monthly active users by the end of this financial year and could have doubled revenue to between $80m and $100m.

The audience numbers would make it India’s biggest digital media platform, The Economic Times reported.

The platform says it is already attracting 207 million monthly active users (MAUs). Dailyhunt president Umang Bedi told the Times’ Brand Equity site this figure would reach 260-270 million visitors by June – and over 325 million by the end of the financial year.

The platform also expects dwell time to increase from its current average of 27 minutes per viewer. “By June, this should cross 30 minutes because of the 543 TV channels we have launched within the app,” said Bedi.

Current revenue is around $40 million, he said.

By the end of June, the company believes revenue will grow to $50-$60 million and that by the end of FY19 the number will hit $80-100 million.

Mindful of the flood of fake news shared in the country, Dailyhunt has launched an ad campaign with the 2019 general election in mind.

The campaign encourages people to make an informed decision about the authenticity of what they view online, and form their own opinion about what content is propaganda or fake news.

Ads urge people not to become a ‘tota’ or ‘parrot’ by sharing dubious content.

Fake news continues to be a huge problem in India. Last summer Facebook-owned WhatsApp took out full-page newspaper ads to try and stem the torrent of false content being shared on its service, some of which had allegedly been responsible for a number of deaths.

DNA reported that India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology demanded the messaging app take action to stop the spread of false and often provocative information, saying it “cannot evade accountability and responsibility”.

Meanwhile, VCCircle reports Dailyhunt is getting a huge financial boost. Goldman Sachs’ hedge find is said to be investing $173 million in Bengalaru-based Versé, which operates Dailyhunt.

The company has reportedly already received $35.05 million and, based on earlier rounds of funding, this latest investment is likely to place the company’s value at $100 million, VCCircle reports.

Sourced from Economic Times, DNA India, VC Circle; additional content by WARC staff