Chai Bisket launches Chai Shots vertical short-series OTT platform with Rs 20-cr creator fund

New Delhi: Chai Bisket has launched Chai Shots, a short-series OTT platform built for smartphones, along with a Rs 20-crore creator fund to back regional storytellers.

Positioned as India’s first regional short-series OTT platform, Chai Shots offers vertical, scripted entertainment with each episode under two minutes. 

The platform is designed for “third screen” consumption, targeting micro-moments such as chai breaks and commutes with structured storytelling instead of endless short-video scrolling.

Backed by Info Edge Ventures and General Catalyst, Chai Shots has raised a seed round of $5 million. Its cap table includes a lineup of angel investors such as actor and producer Rana Daggubati; Swiggy founders Sri Harsha Majety and Nandan Reddy; RedBus founder Phanindra Sama; PhysicsWallah founders Alakh Pandey and Prateek Maheshwari; Rapido founders Aravind Sanka, Pavan Guntupalli and Rishikesh SR; Darwinbox Co-founder Rohit Chennamaneni; and Virgio founder Amar Nagaram.

At the launch, the founders unveiled two key initiatives to position Chai Shots as a “creator-first” platform.

The first is the Creator Gateway, a direct-access portal that allows writers, directors and other creators to pitch ideas straight to the platform without intermediaries. 

Chai Shots has committed to a “Pitch-to-Live in 45 Days” promise, covering greenlighting, production and release, in a bid to cut down the long approval cycles creators typically face.

The second is a Rs 20-crore Creator Fund that will be deployed over the next six months. The company plans to fund and collaborate with more than 200 creators to produce original shows, which it says will serve as a launchpad for new writers, directors and actors entering the mainstream entertainment ecosystem.

“The world is witnessing a shift. In markets like China and the US, vertical short-drama is already a multi-billion dollar industry,” said Sharath Chandra, Co-founder and CEO, Chai Shots. “India, with its rich storytelling heritage and massive smartphone usage, is ready for this revolution. With Chai Shots, we are filling the gap between the 70mm theatre experience and long-form TV, providing premium entertainment for the in-between moments of life.”

Anurag Reddy, Co-founder and CCO, added that the platform is designed as much for creator growth as for consumer viewing. “At Chai Shots, we don’t just create content; we create creators. We know the pain of waiting years for a ‘yes’. With our Creator Gateway and the Rs 20-crore fund, we are removing the red tape,” he said. Chai Shots is launching with more than 75 original shows across genres such as love, thriller, horror and crime, and has committed to releasing two new shows every week.

Industry voices at the launch backed the format and the model. Rana Daggubati said the move to scripted storytelling in vertical, short-form video is an important next step for regional entertainment. Info Edge founder and Padma Shri awardee Sanjeev Bikhchandani, in a video message, called short-form content “the future” and said Chai Shots was doing a strong job of telling compelling stories within the two-minute format.

Chai Shots is launching with a slate of Telugu content but is already working on shows in Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali and Assamese. The company aims to build a pan-India, multi-language vertical entertainment platform from its Hyderabad base.