New Delhi: Amazon is reportedly launching a Shark Tank-type TV show on its Prime streaming service this week to empower promising startups in India. The Prime Video show is set to be unveiled on Wednesday, as the e-commerce giant gears up for its Prime Day this coming weekend, TechCrunch reported on Tuesday, citing people close to the development.
As per the report, the Prime Startup Series will showcase innovations from smaller cities and towns. “Amazon will also present checks to startups at the show through its India-focused $250 million SMBhav fund,” the report added.
When contacted Amazon India, the company did not immediately comment on the report. Amazon India representatives are in touch with several angel investors and venture funds and Bollywood celebrities are also reported to participate in the Prime Video series.
The Amazon Prime startup series comes after Shark Tank India, which ran for two seasons on Sony Entertainment Television. The show is the Indian franchise of the American show Shark Tank. It features entrepreneurs giving business presentations in front of a panel of investors or sharks, who decide whether or not to invest in their company.
Amazon Prime Video is entering the startup arena at a time when the Indian startup ecosystem is going through a tough time amid huge valuation cuts and job losses. The Indian startup ecosystem reported the lowest six-month funding in the last four years, in the first half of this year, at $3.8 billion across 298 deals – a decline of nearly 36 per cent compared to the second half of 2022 ($5.9 billion), the latest As per PwC report.
There will be no new unicorns in India in the first half of 2023 as startup funding fell by over 70 per cent in the January-June period from a year ago, according to data from market intelligence firm Traxon.