{{Short description|Indian social media service}} {{Use Indian English|date=April 2022}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox software | title = Josh | name = Josh | logo = | logo_size = | screenshot = | screenshot size = | collapsible = no | caption = | author = | developer = VerSe Innovation Pvt. Ltd. | released = {{Start date and age|df=yes|2020|9}} | discontinued = No | ver layout = stacked *iOS *Android | operating system = {{plainlist| *iOS *Android}} | size = {{plainlist| *124.3 MB (iOS) *Varies with device (Android)}} | language = {{hlist| Hindi| Bengali| Bhojpuri| Gujarati| Kannada| Malayalam| Marathi| Odia| Punjabi| Tamil| Telugu| English}} | language count = 12 | genre = {{plainlist| *Social Media *Video sharing }} | licence = Freeware | website = {{URL|https://myjosh.in/}} }}
'''Josh''' (stylized as '''JOSH''') was a video-sharing social networking service but it has since evolved into a live call and chat application owned by VerSe Innovation – an Indian technology company based in Bangalore, India.<ref name="2022 Funding">{{cite news |last1=Singh |first1=Manish |title=Dailyhunt and Josh apps parent firm raises $805 million at $5 billion valuation |url=https://techcrunch.com/2022/04/05/dailyhunt-and-josh-apps-parent-firm-raises-805-million-at-5-billion-valuation/ |access-date=9 April 2022 |work=TechCrunch |date=6 April 2022}}</ref> Josh was an Indian short video app that was launched in immediately after the Indian Government banned TikTok and other Chinese apps in June 2020.<ref name="TikTok Ban">{{cite news |last1=Rai |first1=Saritha |title=Short video app Josh, born after India's TikTok ban, gets over Rs 6,000 crore funding |url=https://theprint.in/economy/short-video-app-josh-born-after-indias-tiktok-ban-gets-over-rs-6000-crore-funding/904839/ |access-date=9 April 2022 |work=The Print |date=6 April 2022}}</ref> The founders of the platform have promoted the app as the “Instagram for Bharat” referring to their focus on the Indian audience that speaks its own regional and state languages.<ref name="Founders Interview">{{cite news |last1=MOORTHY |first1= SWATHI| last2=SRIKANTH | first2=CHANDRA R |title=My competition is with users' time spent on mobile phones: DailyHunt founder Virendra Gupta |url=https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/startup/my-competition-is-with-users-time-spent-on-mobile-phones-dailyhunt-founder-virendra-gupta-8321841.html |access-date=9 April 2022 |work=MoneyControl |date=6 April 2022}}</ref> Josh was among the top 10 most downloaded apps social and entertainment apps in India of 2021 and had 150 million monthly active users as per April 2022.<ref name="2022 Funding" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Sekhose |first1= Marcia |title=India accounts for the highest number of social app downloads globally: App Annie |url=https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/mx-takatak-instagram-josh-moj-and-snapchat-are-most-downloaded-social-and-entertainment-apps-in-india-as-per-app-annie/articleshow/86003516.cms |access-date=10 April 2022 |work=Business Insider |date=7 September 2021}}</ref>
The word 'Josh' translates to fervour or passion.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rai |first1= Saritha |title=India's TikTok Alternative Thrives After Ban on Chinese Apps|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-13/josh-app-surges-in-india-as-tiktok-replacement |access-date=9 May 2022 |work=Bloomberg News |date=14 April 2022}}</ref> The app was launched under the aegis of the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign and to compete with the duopoly of Google and Facebook in India.<ref name="Founders Interview 2" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Kashyap |first1= Simran |title=DailyHunt launches Josh app with push for Aatmanirbhar Bharat |url=https://www.oneindia.com/india/dailyhunt-launches-josh-app-with-push-for-aatmanirbhar-bharat-3146379.html |access-date=10 April 2022 |work=One India |date=9 September 2020}}</ref> Josh's parent company VerSe Innovations Pvt. Ltd. owns another startup Dailyhunt, which a content and news aggregator application. Both Dailyhunt and Josh are a part of the VerSe's focus on the "next billion" regional language users of India.<ref name="TikTok Ban" /> Founders Virendra Gupta and Umang Bedi conceptualised Josh as a short-video platform that made content creation accessible to vernacular language users, essentially the non-English speaking audience in India.<ref name="Founders Interview 2">{{cite news |last1=Sridhar |first1= Vijayalakshmi |title="Kept growing the core business"|url=https://www.fortuneindia.com/venture/kept-growing-the-core-business/106024 |access-date=9 April 2022 |work=Fortune India |date=21 October 2021}}</ref><ref name="DH Launches Josh">{{cite news |last1=Sehgal |first1= Soumya |title=Dailyhunt Launches 'JOSH' App: Creator-First, Consumer-Focused And Content-Forward|url=https://www.businessworld.in/article/Dailyhunt-launches-JOSH-app-Creator-first-consumer-focused-and-content-forward/11-09-2020-318555/ |access-date=10 April 2022 |work=Business World |date=10 September 2020}}</ref>
== Features == Josh is currently available in 12 Indian languages and allows users to upload, share, remix bite-sized videos of up to 120 seconds. There are various categories across the video section including viral, trending, glamour, dance, devotion, yoga and cooking among others. Similar to Instagram and TikTok, it has a video feed which is curated for individuals on the basis of their app behaviour. The app hosts many daily, weekly and monthly social media challenges.<ref name="DH Launches Josh" />
== Funding == In December 2020, within 3 months of its launch, Josh's parent app VerSe Innovation raised more than $100 million from investors including Alphabet Inc's Google and Microsoft.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ravikumar |first1= Sachin |last2=Aich |first2=Rashmi |title=Indian TikTok clone gets Google, Microsoft backing in $100 mln fund raise|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/china/indian-tiktok-clone-gets-google-microsoft-backing-100-mln-fund-raise-2020-12-22/ |access-date=9 April 2022 |work=Reuters |date=22 December 2020}}</ref> In February 2021, VerSe Innovation raised $100 million in Series H funding from Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar, and Glade Brook Capital Partners.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ahaskar |first1= Abhijit |title=Dailyhunt, Josh creators raise $100 million in series H funding |url=https://www.livemint.com/companies/start-ups/dailyhunt-josh-creators-raise-100-million-in-series-h-funding-11612764607918.html |access-date=9 April 2022 |work=Live Mint |date=8 February 2021}}</ref> In August 2021, VerSe raised over $450 million in its Series I financing round with a valuation of $1 billion. Investors included Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), Siguler Guff, Baillie Gifford, Carlyle Asia Partners Growth II affiliates, and others.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bhalla |first1=Tarush |title=Dailyhunt, Josh parent raises $450 million at nearly $3 billion valuation |url=https://www.livemint.com/companies/start-ups/dailyhunt-josh-parent-raises-450-million-at-nearly-3-billion-valuation-11628747700125.html |access-date=9 April 2022 |work=Live Mint |date=12 August 2021}}</ref> The startup announced its plan to expand overseas and broaden its ecommerce play for both Dailyhunt and Josh.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Subramaniam |first1=Nikhil |title=VerSe Innovation Raises $450 Mn; Eyes Global Push For DailyHunt, Josh |url=https://inc42.com/buzz/verse-innovation-raises-450-mn-eyes-global-push-for-dailyhunt-josh/ |access-date=9 April 2022 |work=inc42 |date=12 August 2021}}</ref> In April 2022, VerSe announced that it has raised $805 million in funding from investors at a valuation of nearly $5 billion.<ref>{{Cite news|title=DailyHunt & Josh Parent Co To Raise $805mn – StartUp Central|url=https://www.timesnownews.com/videos/et-now/shows/dailyhunt-josh-parent-co-to-raise-805mn-startup-central-video-90689497|work=Times Now| date= 7 April 2022}}</ref> ByteDance Offloads Stake In Josh Parent VerSe, Exits At 56% Discount <ref>{{Cite web |last=Thathoo |first=Chetan |date=June 4, 2022 |title=ByteDance Offloads Stake In Josh Parent VerSe, Exits At A Discount Of 56% |url=https://inc42.com/buzz/bytedance-offloads-stake-in-josh-parent-verse-exits-at-a-discount-of-56/ |website=Inc42 Media |language=en}}</ref>
== Partnerships == In February 2021, Saregama and Josh signed a music licensing deal, wherein Josh expanded its musical library with 1.3 lakh songs from Saregama in 25 different languages.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Josh app expands its musical library with 1.3 lakh songs from Saregama in 25 different languages|url=https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/josh-app-expands-its-musical-library-with-1-3-lakh-songs-from-saregama-in-25-different-languages/articleshow/80647880.cms|access-date=2021-07-02|website=Business Insider}}</ref>
To improve their user experience, Josh partnered with computer vision company D-ID in August 2021. The company helped Josh introduce photo-to-video features, live portrait technology, animate their photos etc.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Josh joins hands with D-ID to bring new feature to the platform |url=https://www.financialexpress.com/brandwagon/josh-joins-hands-with-d-id-to-bring-new-feature-on-the-platform/2305758/ |access-date=9 April 2022| work=Financial Express| date=6 August 2021}}</ref>
In order to solidify their efforts in enhancing Josh, VerSe acquired Indian social networking platform GolBol in October 2021. The move came as an effort by the startup to strengthen their discovery initiatives on the platform and classify content at scale and understand the core behaviour of Indian regional audiences.<ref>{{Cite news| last1=Bhalla |first1=Tarush |title=VerSe acquires GolBol in bid to enhance Josh|url=https://www.livemint.com/companies/start-ups/verse-innovation-acquires-social-networking-app-golbol-11634115904260.html|work=LiveMint| date= 13 October 2021}}</ref>
Josh has also announced its plans to include live commerce as a potential revenue stream through its partnership with multiple large e-commerce players.<ref>{{Cite news| last1=Moorthy |first1=Swathi |title=Exclusive: Dailyhunt's short video app Josh readies live commerce feature, partners with e-commerce players|url=https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/startup/exclusive-dailyhunts-short-video-app-josh-readies-live-commerce-feature-partners-with-e-commerce-players-8214461.html|work=Money Control| date= 10 March 2022}}</ref>
== Notable campaigns == *Say No To Dowry – In association with Josh, the Kerala Police partook in the #SayNo2Dowry online social media campaign that was started to highlight and stop the social evil in the state.<ref>{{Cite news| title=Kerala Police team up with Josh app for #SayNo2Dowry |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/2021/aug/06/kerala-police-team-up-with-josh-app-for-sayno2dowry-2340757.html |work=New Indian Express| date= 6 August 2021| access-date=9 April 2022}}</ref> *Salute India – Josh entered the Guinness World Records by creating the largest online video album of people saluting (29,529). It organised an online campaign #SaluteIndia on the app during the 75th Independence Day of India during 10–15 August 2021.<ref>{{Cite news| title=Josh creates new Guinness World Record of 'largest online video of people saluting' National Anthem |url=https://www.sify.com/news/josh-creates-new-guinness-world-record-of-largest-online-video-of-people-saluting-national-anthem-news-national-vjyn4tgccahga.html |work=Sify| date= 24 September 2021| access-date=9 April 2022}}{{dead link|date=October 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>
== See also == *Dailyhunt *Roposo *Likee *Koo *TikTok *Triller
== References == {{reflist}}
<!--- Categories ---> Category:Social networking services Category:Indian entertainment websites Category:Privately held companies of India Category:2020 establishments in Karnataka Category:Mobile applications