Meta is making moves to invest in Indian startup, Better Opinion

Facebook parent company Meta is planning to invest in its startup in the South Asian region. The tech giant currently has its eyes on Indian startup Better Opinions. 

Individuals familiar with the matter said India is by far Facebook's third-largest market. They said Facebook is preparing to invest in early-stage startup Better Opinions, after it invested in social commerce startup Meesho and e-learning platform Unacademy in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

The sources said that the discussions are underway and the transaction has not yet been finalized. 

According to two sources, Meta is offering to contribute up to $3 million to Better Opinions' seed fundraising round, valuing the business at less than $25 million.

If the negotiations result in a contract, this would mark the first time that Meta had invested in an early-stage Indian startup.

The startup has acquired $2.5 million in seed funding from a number of investors, according to Samay Jain, co-founder of Better Opinions, in an email. These investors include Metaplanet VC, YCombinator, Taurus VC, Original Capital, Tremis Capital, Goodwater Capital, and Super Capital. 

Better Opinions, a company founded by Jain and Soumyajit Das, both former employees of GoJek, is creating what it has dubbed "the prediction market" for India. People can exchange their ideas on common themes on the app bearing their name, and depending on how well their predictions pan out, they can earn actual money.

From an assessment of Better Opinions, users can anticipate outcomes of cricket matches as well as exact outcomes of key moments in the game, such as runs in an over.

The app can be used for price setting, hedging, and trading. According to the startup's website, you may trade and make money using the platform's insights and your skills.

According to data taken from an investor presentation, the business has accumulated 600,000 members who have traded more over $1.25 million on the site, according to Jain. According to the startup's investor deck, it intends to generate income via collecting trading fees, selling subscriptions, and market making.

Per a memo from one of its investors, Better Opinions is seeking to open the world of investing to those who are knowledgeable about particular areas but are unable to apply it to the stock markets.

In recent years, Meta's competitors Google and Amazon have also made a number of investments in India, pursuing opportunities that frequently complement and widen their methods to serving the second-largest internet market in the world.

About Better Opinions

Better Opinions is an Indian prediction platform that enables users to exchange their opinions on common subjects. For instance, if you predict that India Covid cases will drop by 10% this week, you may trade this knowledge and, if accurate, profit.

Making the software inclusive for everyone is its goal. Unfortunately, the stock market can be quite complicated and obscure, making it not necessarily accessible to everyone. However, by permitting trade in areas like cricket, politics, and entertainment, Better opinion not only assist people become more financially literate but also make trading more relevant.