Times internet has invested $15 million for an majority stake in services startup Taskbucks. The Gurgaon-based company was founded in 2014 by Kumar Apurva and is a mobile-only tasks marketplace that connects users with brands and enterprises. The Android-only platform offers tasks to consumers who are rewarded for finishing these. The company claims that the app has nearly 5 million downloads and adds 1 million new users each month. Taskbucks currently offers brands the option for app discovery, user retention, referral tasks, offer signups, and social content sharing, as promotions that they can offer consumers. The company claims that it will be adding crowd sourced tasks, surveys, opinion polls, offline photo tasks, and other modules. The funds raised will be used to build out more ways for companies to leverage access to their user base. The company also plans to launch Taskbucks Pro, a premium version of Taskbucks where users can perform real-world tasks for brands, to earn more. Times Internet’s previous strategic partnerships - In August, Times Internet entered into a strategic partnership with Coursera, a massive open online courses (MOOCs) company, to ‘assist Coursera’s growth in India’. Times Internet has also participated in Coursera’s Series C funding worth $49.5 million. – In March, Times Internet entered into a strategic partnership with the taxi booking service Uber in a deal that was “centered around a commercial marketing arrangement accompanied by a small investment”, according to the company. The marketing part of the deal, according to Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, included the Times of India groups “print,…
