Social media startup Hunch has successfully raised $23 million in a Series A funding round led by Alpha Wave and Hashed Emergent from South Korea. The Dubai-based company intends to utilize the capital to enhance its technological infrastructure, refine feed personalization, and expedite its expansion into the US and Indian markets. Hunch, which already maintains offices in India and Singapore, had previously secured $3 million in a seed round in June 2022.
Established in 2022 by Ish Goel, Hunch provides users with the ability to create polls on diverse topics such as pop culture, gaming, finance, dating, relationships, and anime. These polls bridge curiosity gaps, enabling users to validate their opinions and connect with like-minded individuals.
Hunch boasts a substantial record of over 115,000 polls, garnering more than 100 million opinions through user votes nationwide. According to the company, approximately 85% of its user base resides in India, with the remaining 15% hailing from the US.
In a media statement, Goel expressed the company’s ambition to scale up to low single-digit millions of Monthly Active Users (MAUs) within the next 12 months, with 40% to 50% of this user base expected to come from the US.
Notably, Hunch is the second startup led by an Indian-origin founder, based in Dubai, to secure funding in 2023. Last week, Marrfa, a proptech startup founded by Jamil Ahmad, co-founder of Fashinza, announced its pre-seed round led by Berlin-based VC firm Foundamental.
