ReelSaga Secures $2.1M to Expand Mobile Drama Venture into Middle East

Editorial Team

Last updated 19-05-2025

3 min

ReelSaga, an India-based startup, secured $2.

1 million in seed funding to expand regionally.

Picus Capital and others participated, supporting their plan to enter the Middle East market.

The funds will enhance app development for high-quality, short dramas, ideal for mobile consumption.

Inspired by China's mini-drama industry, ReelSaga plans to create many short episodes.

They aim to tap into the growing demand for quick, engaging content suited for smartphones.

India-based mobile entertainment startup ReelSaga has bagged itself an impressive $2.1 million in seed funding, with sights set firmly on expanding across the Middle East. Leading the charge was Picus Capital, joined in the round by ITI Growth Opportunities Fund, Nazara Technologies, 8i Ventures, Waveform Ventures, Warmup Ventures, Bombay54, Bharat Founders Fund, along with several angel investors showing their support.

The fresh cash injection will help ReelSaga sharpen its app development and ramp up the production of high-quality short dramas, specially crafted for mobile-viewing audiences in India, South-East Asia, and now increasingly the Middle East.

You can imagine these dramas like bite-sized morsels, delivered in short-and-sweet episodes between one to two minutes long, perfectly shaped for watching while waiting at the bus stop, grabbing a quick lunch, or just killing time on your daily commute. It's essentially drama made quick and easy for the digitally-savvy crowd who prefer portrait-mode telly to couch-bound marathons.

Launched in 2024, it's the brainchild of veteran entrepreneurs Shubh Bansal, Shanu Vivek, and Ritesh Pandey. The trio previously co-founded Truebil, a car-sales platform that was subsequently snapped up by Spinny. Drawing from their prior success, they aim to create something entirely fresh with ReelSaga—a new genre of storytelling tailored specifically for smartphones.

Shanu Vivek, co-founder and head honcho for product and operations, explains that the firm creatively blends data science and tech innovation "to push the boundaries of short-form video storytelling, offering highly personalised stories aimed squarely at mobile viewers."

The inspiration behind ReelSaga comes partly from China's booming mini-drama industry, which churns out over 5,000 shows each year and, reportedly, even manages to rake in bigger revenues than traditional box-office hits. With plans to put out series ranging from 50 to a whopping 100 small episodes each, ReelSaga is betting big on emulating China's runaway success formula.

We at Arageek reckon it'll be interesting to see if ReelSaga can deliver on its ambitious goals and capture the Middle Eastern market appetite for fast-paced digital entertainment. We're certainly keeping a close eye on their next moves and wondering if this mobile-dedicated content phenomenon could soon be a staple among audiences glued to their phones from Riyadh to Cairo and beyond.

Of course, whether short-form mobile drama can really become a mainstay, rivalling richly produced traditional programming—only time and, perhaps, audience-fatigue will tell. But, with $2.1 million at play, ReelSaga has every chance of making a significant dent in viewers' screentime habbits.

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