Wattpad Teams up With Times Bridge for India Expansion

By Patrick Frater

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Indian media investor, Times Bridge has made a strategic investment into Canadian online entertainment group Wattpad. The two companies conceive of the move as expanding ’s position in .

Times Bridge is the investment arm of India’s The Times Group and has previously taken investment positions in Uber, Airbnb, Coursera, Houzz, MUBI and Smule. It also has a business relationship with Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post which sees SCMP content republished by The Times of India. Wattpad claims a global online community of more than 70 million users, and says its mission is to helps local storytellers connect with readers everywhere

The value of the deal and the size of Times Bridge’s stake in Wattpad were not disclosed.

The two see their combined efforts as helping writers to establish new strategic partnerships. It will also help Wattpad Studios work with local partners to turn stories into books, TV shows, films, and digital projects. Wattpad recently appointed Devashish Sharma as its first India country manager.

“Times Bridge (will) expand our footprint in the region and create more opportunities for India’s rich literary community to tell their stories,” said Allen Lau, CEO & co-founder, Wattpad, in a statement.

Wattpad’s international entertainment partners include iflix, Huayi Brothers Korea, Bavaria Fiction, Sony, and SYFY. It recently launched new publishing division Wattpad Books that will bring Wattpad stories to bookshelves everywhere.