The Reverie Revenant

Does the recent acquisition of Reverie Technologies by Reliance herald a success or failure?

90% of new Indian internet users over the next five years would be more conversant with local Indian languages than English. Reverie was struggling to reach them

Reliance, for once, has little expertise with local language. And Reverie’s core competence is local language support

Using Reverie, Reliance can build an ad engine that is primed for local languages—keyboard data and voice inputs can be analysed and monetised

Does this make Reverie a zombie startup? Or a Phoenix, rising from its ashes?

Revenant (noun), one who has returned, as if from the dead.

Have you watched Leonardo DiCaprio’s Oscar-winning performance in The Revenant?

Have you ever wondered what the title meant?

Well, the word “revenant” is from the French word “revenir”, meaning “to return”. In this case, it means to return as if from the dead.

From a startup perspective, this word is particularly interesting.

For one thing, it is probably applicable to a large number of startups.

AUTHOR

Sumanth Raghavendra

Sumanth is a serial entrepreneur with more than eighteen years experience in running startups. He is currently the founder of Deck App Technologies, a Bangalore-based startup attempting to re-imagine productivity software for the Post-PC era. Sumanth’s columns appear regularly in leading publications. He holds MBA degrees from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore and Thunderbird, The American Graduate School of International Management, USA.

View Full Profile

Others tell you what. We tell you the ‘So What?’

Read articles that decode the most significant shifts happening around business, technology, startups and healthcare. 1000+ articles for subscribers of the India edition. 150+ articles for subscribers of the Southeast Asia edition. Plus premium newsletters that help you make sense of the world around you.

So much journalism in India is superficial.

Articles are generic, almost cookie-cutter in their approach. And they don’t provide enough context on the issues they cover. The Ken is different. I don’t always agree with everything they say but I appreciate their commitment to publishing deeply reported narratives and investigations. Their reporters find new ways to analyze tech among other industries. And that’s always worth a read.

Sid Talwar / Co-Founder and Partner / Lightbox Venture Capital

As entrepreneurs, we thrive on being in the know at all times.

A personal subscription to The Ken was a no brainer. But as startup founders, this isn't enough. Team members also need to be in the know, for everyone handles customer-facing responsibilities and an ecosystem change that impacts customers also impacts us

Kiran Jonnalagadda / Co-founder / HasGeek and Internet Freedom Foundation