Think9 Acquires Whoppl, Launches Nova9 for Culture-Led Brand Building
Nova9 will also collaborate with Think9’s entrepreneurial platform, The Foundery, to support emerging consumer brands.
[L-R] Ramya Ramachandran (Founder & CEO of Whoppl) & Santosh Desai (Co-Founder, Think9 Consumer Technologies and CEO, Futurebrands India)
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In a strategic development in India’s marketing and digital ecosystem, Think9 has acquired creator-led firm Whoppl and launched a new unit, Nova9, aimed at building culture-driven brand systems for the attention economy.
Founded by Ashni Biyani and Avni Biyani, daughters of Kishore Biyani, along with brand strategist Santosh Desai, Think9 said the acquisition is part of its broader effort to create future-ready, consumer-first brands. The move brings together Whoppl’s creator-focused approach with Think9’s strategic capabilities.
Nova9 is positioned as a cultural intelligence and storytelling engine that integrates creative direction, platform-native expertise, real-time data analytics, and community engagement. The company said the unit will help brands operate more like media entities, responding dynamically to cultural trends and online conversations.
Santosh Desai said, “The launch of Nova9 marks a significant shift in how brands will approach digital marketing, moving beyond campaign-based communication toward culture-led narrative ecosystems that are native to platforms and communities.” He added, “Nova9 will expand its capabilities by hiring across multiple disciplines… The goal is to build a multidisciplinary team capable of decoding culture and translating it into high-impact brand narratives.”
Ramya Ramachandran, Founder and CEO of Whoppl, highlighted, “Over the past few years, we’ve seen a fundamental shift in how brands earn attention—moving from broadcasting messages to building stories that people want to engage with and co-create. With Nova9, we are building a culture-first storytelling engine that enables brands to move at the speed of the internet.”
Nova9 will also collaborate with Think9’s entrepreneurial platform, The Foundery, to support emerging consumer brands.
Founded in 2019, Whoppl focuses on content, creators, and commerce, offering influencer marketing and social media solutions to brands navigating the digital landscape.
In a strategic development in India’s marketing and digital ecosystem, Think9 has acquired creator-led firm Whoppl and launched a new unit, Nova9, aimed at building culture-driven brand systems for the attention economy.
Founded by Ashni Biyani and Avni Biyani, daughters of Kishore Biyani, along with brand strategist Santosh Desai, Think9 said the acquisition is part of its broader effort to create future-ready, consumer-first brands. The move brings together Whoppl’s creator-focused approach with Think9’s strategic capabilities.
Nova9 is positioned as a cultural intelligence and storytelling engine that integrates creative direction, platform-native expertise, real-time data analytics, and community engagement. The company said the unit will help brands operate more like media entities, responding dynamically to cultural trends and online conversations.
