Rammohan Sundaram, who exited NetworkPlay after selling the business to the Bertelsmann group, has launched PlatformPlay, to provide international businesses with a means to enter India: PlatformPlay will partner with businesses using multiple models - build-operate-transfer, monetization through representation, joint ventures, consulting, licensing, among others - and offer them a passage into India's burgeoning digital industry. The Smile-Vun Group has a majority stake in PlatformPlay, with Smile-Vun co-founder Manish Vij on its board, and it perhaps helps that the group has a number of digital advertising related businesses as a part of its portfolio - Tyroo, PrecisionMatch, DGM and Velocity. Speaking with MediaNama, Sundaram said that the venture is separate from the Smile-Vun Group, and he has a separate office. At present, it's a one-man operation, but he is hiring. PlatformPlay is currently in negotiations with a few ventures for an India entry; "These partnerships take around 6-9 months to close, and every brand will have an exit in the build-operate-transfer model, which is performance parameter based", Sundaram added. According to its website, the company is targeting "Web Publishers, Mobile App Creators, Mobile Web Publishers, Smart TV Manufacturers, Hand Set Manufacturers, Mobile Carriers, Large Event Owners and Digital Advertising Agencies." While it's one thing for them to target publishers, app creators, event companies and advertising agencies - businesses similar to which Sundaram has dabbled in before, it's quite another for them to target Smart TV, Handset and carrier businesses: different scale, completely different business model. My money's is on PlatformPlay bringing a digital…
