Mumbai: Think9, founded by Ashni Biyani and Avni Biyani along with brand evangelist Santosh Desai, has announced the acquisition of Whoppl, marking a strategic step in its ambition to build future-ready, culture-first brands. As part of the move, the company has launched Nova9, a specialized unit aimed at creating high-velocity, culture-driven storytelling systems for the attention economy.
The acquisition brings together Whoppl’s creator-first ecosystem with Think9’s brand-building expertise to establish Nova9 as a next-generation cultural intelligence and storytelling engine. The move further strengthens Think9’s growing portfolio of consumer ventures, including Superyou, Foodstories, Broadway, and Goodbug, positioning it strongly within India’s rapidly evolving digital and creator-led landscape.
Nova9 will focus on combining creative direction, strategic planning, meme culture, cinematic storytelling, platform-native expertise, and real-time data analytics. The aim is to help brands function as modern media companies by building dynamic narrative systems that respond to cultural trends, communities, and ongoing conversations.
Santosh Desai, Co-Founder, Think9 Consumer Technologies and CEO, Futurebrands India, commented, “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.“
“Nova9 will expand its capabilities by hiring across multiple disciplines, including cultural strategists, creative storytellers, meme and community specialists, platform-native content strategists, and AI data analysts focused on real-time cultural signals. The goal is to build a multidisciplinary team capable of decoding culture and translating it into high-impact brand narratives,” Desai added.
Ramya Ramachandran, Founder & CEO, Whoppl, said, “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. At Whoppl, we built a creator-powered ecosystem designed for this new reality. Partnering with Think9 allows us to scale that vision exponentially. With Nova9, we are building a culture-first storytelling engine that enables brands to move at the speed of the internet—creating narratives that are not just seen, but shared, remixed, and lived.”
Nova9 will also work closely with The Foundery, Think9’s entrepreneurial platform that brings together founders, operators, and investors to build and scale new-age consumer brands. The platform aims to bridge traditional brand-building approaches with emerging, internet-led business models. Ramya Ramachandran is set to play a key leadership role in shaping Nova9’s vision and growth.
Founded in 2019, Whoppl has established itself as a fast-growing player in content creation, influencer marketing, and social commerce, offering brands access to a strong creator network and integrated solutions built around content, creators, and commerce.
