Doosra, a privacy-tech startup, has successfully raised seed funding from Omidyar Network India and a group of other investors. This round of investment will support Doosra in its mission to enhance privacy solutions for users, particularly by providing innovative ways to protect personal information in an increasingly digital world.
Doosra: The Privacy Oasis in a Data-Hungry World
In an era where privacy is increasingly hard to come by, Hyderabad-based privacy-tech startup Doosra stands out as a beacon of hope. Recently, Doosra raised seed funding from Omidyar Network India and other investors, marking a significant step toward enhancing data privacy for consumers and businesses worldwide.
Doosra Raises Seed Funding
A Privacy-Tech Solution for the Modern World
Doosra, a startup dedicated to streamlining digital lives, offers a SIM-free virtual mobile number that protects users’ privacy. This number can be used in situations where sharing a personal number is mandatory, allowing users to keep their real number private. After signing up on Doosra’s website and selecting a plan, users receive an instantly active virtual number. Incoming calls to this number are either blocked or sent to voicemail by Doosra’s algorithm.
Available on both Android and iOS, the Doosra app lets users review blocked calls, SMS messages, OTPs, and voicemails, all within a user-friendly interface. Founded by Aditya Vuchi in September 2020, Doosra quickly gained traction, culminating in a successful seed funding round led by Omidyar Network India.
A Growing Impact
Since its launch, Doosra has blocked over 700,000 calls and 2.5 million messages from more than 50,000 telemarketers. The app has been downloaded over 100,000 times and has also gained popularity in the B2B market. During the second wave of COVID-19, Doosra offered a free six-month plan to volunteers, further cementing its commitment to privacy and social impact. Doosra sources regular ten-digit numbers through partnerships with telecom companies, assigning them to customers via its app.
The Seed Funding Round
Doosra’s seed funding round was led by Omidyar Network India, with participation from Titan Capital, 2am Ventures, and angel investors including Bhuvan Gupta, co-founder of OfBusiness, and Nitin Agarwal and Srinivas Raju Kalidindi.
Piyush Soonee, Principal at Omidyar Network India, emphasized the significance of privacy tech, stating, “The impact that inclusive PrivacyTech can create in the lives of every Indian is immense. With regulation putting pressure on businesses, and consumers across the economic spectrum looking for tools to take charge of their digital lives, Doosra will solve a critical issue that impacts almost all of us.”
Omidyar Network India is known for investing in ventures that empower and create social impact, with a focus on areas like Digital Society, Education, Emerging Tech, Financial Inclusion, Governance & Citizen Engagement, and Property Rights.
Aditya Vuchi, Founder of Doosra, highlighted the importance of privacy in today’s digital age, stating that as digital adoption grows in communication, identity, and payments, privacy becomes even more crucial. Doosra offers a publicly shareable mobile number that safeguards personal data, giving users the freedom to choose when and where to use their real numbers.