Dailyhunt Launches ‘JOSH’ App: Creator-First, Consumer-Focused And Content-Forward

With all the hullabaloo around taking down the China-backed apps, the doors for Indian players to prove their grit and talent have opened and how. One such homegrown short-video app, Josh, launched by the local content discovery platform, Dailyhunt, is all things Bharat. It is proudly being marketed as the mahagathbandhan (mega confluence) of the country’s best creators, the biggest music labels, the hottest entertainment format, formidable user demographics and the largest local language platform. 

Since its inception, Dailyhunt’s singular focus has been to serve Bharat, giving users access to multi-lingual content that keeps them informed, entertained, and connected. Josh is their next big step in this continued effort that strategically aims to nurture a family of apps powered by social.

Built upon recognising and celebrating India’s creative beauty and diversity, the app is already a hit in its initial phase and has garnered exceptional numbers- 200+ A-rated exclusive creators, 4 mega music labels, 50+ million downloads, 1+ billion video plays per day, 23+ million daily active users (DAUs), 21+ minutes time spent per DAU and over 5 million User Generated Content (UGC) content creators.

In my conversation with Umang Bedi, Co-Founder, Dailyhunt, he is unshakable in his belief of Josh being a one-stop app for all content creators’ needs. He believes, “It is truly a made-in-Bharat.for-Bharat.by-Bharat.in-10-Bhartiya-languages.hosted-in-Bharat short video platform. We are humbled by the overwhelming endorsement it has received since the day of its launch.”

Virendra Gupta, Founder, Dailyhunt, also reiterates, “Josh is the manifestation of our commitment to three big promises. First, to play our part in the Digital Bharat and AtmaNirbhar Bharat initiatives. Second, to empower the large and indigenous ecosystem of talented creators in every nook and corner of our country. Third, to promote the rich heritage and culture of India and make it really big. The success of platforms like Josh is the success of Bharat.”

Josh primarily focuses on the audience from the non-metro segment, which accounts for nearly 60% of the population. The app arises as a platform that allows the creation and distribution of content in local languages for a population that is generally more in tune with traditional Indian cultural practices. This segment has latched on to platforms such as TikTok and its subsidiaries such as Helo as reported in 2019 in Quartz. Gupta expresses here, “There seems to be a rush for patriotism in each of us. When the Prime Minister called upon the Indian developers to be Aatmanirbhar, we took the opportunity of building a comprehensive app- Josh. It powers together love, life, passion, creativity and entertainment. With its wide offerings, we assure no Indian will turn up to any other app.”

Josh is built on the ethos of being truly creator first. It enables its creators to talk to the app engineers, product managers, AI/Tech builders, etc., to curate features of their own. Visibly a fan favorite, Josh now hosts 200+ exclusive creators on its platform. 

Additionally, the app promises big to be committed to partner with creator ecosystems (music, yoga, cookery, sports, fitness, etc.) and take them along. Bedi believes, “We win by 3 core rights from our competitors- our deepest AI/ML text stack in local language, deepest personalisation, and the ability to monetise. I don’t see any other Indian company to demonstrate such deep offerings.”

On being asked upon the future of the app, Gupta is confident that the app will rise and shine like no other. “In the next 4-5 months, we expect to cross 100mn downloads easily. Time spent per user per day would reach 40 mins. Also, the number of UGC video creators will be 10mn,” he shares.

The short-video ecosystem in India is very large as the smart-phone market is skyrocketing and we see wider accessibility to internet services. On the business front, the ones who remain committed, make a brand-safe app and eventually monetise, will emerge as the winner in this category. While a lot of young entrepreneurs are supporting this ecosystem, it is important that the ecosystem realises their efforts too. More power to the budding businesses, who are leaving no stone unturned to cater to the evolving consumer needs!