Digital entertainment and technology company, JetSynthesys, has acquired a majority stake in Fanory, a start-up that helps creators monetise content on social media platforms. As part of this transaction, JetSynthesys has onboarded former Twitter India Head and Fanory’s co-founder, Manish Maheshwari, as president at the corporate level, JetSynthesys. 

Shareholders of JetSynthesys include the family offices of Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan, Serum Institute of India's Adar Poonawalla, and cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar, amongst others.

Co-founded by Maheshwari along with two of his former colleagues, Fanory enables creators to monetise their craft on their terms through their community of fans, thereby turning them into micro-entrepreneurs, the company stated. 

The platform connects creators with their superfans through a personalised app, a model similar to how in the e-commerce space, Shopify helps small offline businesses set up personalised digital stores. Maheshwari is now said to focus on the global expansion of Fanory. 

"We are looking forward to expanding our horizons in the digital entertainment space. The social media creators market has grown exponentially, and we see this continuing for the foreseeable future. Fanory's model is beneficial for creators. It compensates them for their hard work and creativity. With Manish by our side, we look forward to exploring this new avenue and entrenching ourselves deeper into the digital entertainment realm," said Rajan Navani, founder and chief executive officer (CEO), JetSynthesys.

Fanory as a platform will work closely with the digital entertainment pillar of JetSynthesys. Fanory aims to assist creators in locating their superfans, i.e., those who are both ready and willing to pay for exclusive opportunities to interact with their favorite artists. It will then enable creators to upsell premium experiences on a personalised app through a frictionless, coin-based payment mechanism.

"Social media platforms prioritise follower acquisition and engagement so that they can sell adverts to brands. Direct monetisation for creators is an afterthought. Fanory is different because its core and only focus is creator monetization. This deal will exponentially grow the possibilities for creators and their superfans as they now have access to the broader platform and ecosystem relationships of JetSynthesys," said Manish Maheshwari, co-founder of Fanory and president-corporate level, of JetSynthesys 

Before joining Twitter, Maheshwari was CEO of Network18 Digital. He has previously held leadership positions at Intuit and McKinsey in San Francisco and New York respectively. He has previously served on the Governing Council of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).