Making sense of Dailyhunt’s bold 75% growth claims after FY24 slip

In May last year, fresh off Dailyhunt’s acquisition of digital magazine store app Magzter, Umang Bedi, co-founder and CEO of VerSe Innovation—the parent company of news aggregator Dailyhunt and short video app Josh—spoke with The CapTable. He claimed that the company wrapped up the year ended March 2024 (FY24) with “double-digit growth”, outpacing the overall advertising market.

Bedi’s claim came on the heels of a blockbuster FY23, where VerSe reported revenues of Rs 1,456 crore—a staggering 50% surge to Rs 1,456—while narrowing its losses to just under Rs 2,000 crore. And even as doubts loomed over the longevity of Indian TikTok clones, Bedi insisted that Josh, VerSe’s contender for the short video throne, had cracked the monetisation puzzle, touting an average revenue run rate of $100 million.

Last week, VerSe—which underwent a protracted audit that stretched well beyond the September 30 deadline for filing results—finally announced its FY24 financials. Rather than double-digit growth, the company’s revenue shrank by 13%, falling to approximately Rs 1,261 crore. Bedi attributed the delay in the audit to Deloitte, the company’s auditor, seeking clarification on VerSe’s newly launched business segments. Unlike the straightforward nature of its advertising operations, these ventures were more complex, requiring additional explanation, per Bedi. He also revealed that this was Deloitte’s final year as VerSe’s auditor, with PricewaterhouseCoopers taking over.