Arun Sarin Joins Saavn as Investor and Strategic Advisor, Announces Growth Milestones

Saavn, India’s music streaming service, has announced new investment from former Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin.

Bringing years of telecom expertise to the mobile-focused company, Sarin joins Saavn as its growth continues to prove the unmatched market demand for music streaming in India.

Saavn is also announcing new milestones, including a 10x increase in daily active users in India since 2014, a new average of a quarter billion streams per month, and a catalog of 20 million tracks.

In July, Saavn announced a $100 million Series C and reported 14 million monthly active users. In just under two months, the company has grown to nearly 18 million monthly active users, the vast majority of whom are in India.

“As we continue to build a world-class mobile entertainment company, we believe in collaborating with the best partners in the world. With over 90% of our usage driven by smartphones, Saavn users are moving data plan transactions and driving data engagement at an incredible pace. In the coming months, you’ll see us work more deeply with carriers in India and additional territories,” Rishi Malhotra, Co-Founder and CEO of Saavn, said. “We’re honored to have the support of Arun, who brings unmatched industry insight, experience, and instincts to our business.”

As CEO of the global telecom giant Vodafone plc, Sarin was one of the first to predict the mass adoption of mobile phones in emerging markets. His support for Saavn underscores a similar trend underway in the music industry.

“Music streaming is a core app on today’s smartphones, and Saavn is superbly positioned to grow rapidly in the fast expanding smartphone market in India. As an innovative and nimble music streaming company, at the heart of one of the world’s most valuable markets, Saavn hits all the right notes. I look forward to working with the Saavn team on the company’s continued progress,” Sarin said.

Sarin joins Saavn on the heels of the company’s latest funding round in July. Saavn’s Series C round was led by Tiger Global Management, with participation from Bertelsmann India Investments, Steadview Capital, Liberty Media, Mousse Partners, Quilvest, and additional Hong Kong-based hedge funds.

Saavn is also announcing the following growth milestones today:

· 10x increase in daily active users in India since 2014

· 20 Million + songs

· Over 250 million streams per month

· A global team of 145 people across 5 offices

· 18 million monthly active users