Vertex leads $26.5m Series D for Taiwan’s M17

Stonebridge Ventures, Innoven Capital Singapore, Kaga Electronics, and semiconductor technology provider ASE Global Group also participated. It is the company’s third funding round since mid-2018, when it scrapped plans for a $60.1 million IPO in the US, citing unspecified difficulties with some investors.

M17 secured $35 million from Infinity Venture Partners, Convergence Ventures, Majuven, and Global Grand Capital at the time of the failed float. This was followed within six months by another $25 million investment that included Stonebridge and Pavilion Capital International. Vertex, Infinity, and Majuven first backed the company in a $40 million Series A in 2017 alongside KTB Network China, Yahoo Japan, and Golden Summit Capital. 

The company was established in 2015 through the merger of Taiwanese live-streaming broadcaster 17 Media and Paktor, a Singapore-based dating app considered a segment leader in Taiwan, Vietnam, and South Korea, as well as its home market.  It brands itself as the leading live-streaming platform in developed Asia, with a more than 60% market share by revenue across Japan and Taiwan as well as a growing presence in Hong Kong.

"M17 is by far the largest pure-play video live streaming company in Japan,” Fortune Sohn, a managing director at Stonebridge, said in a statement. “Even at their level of scale, M17 is showing an astonishing rate of growth.” Stonebridge invested via its Korea Unicorn Venture Fund, which closed at KRW105 billion ($133 million) last year with a view to backing Korean projects.

The fresh capital will be used to continue an ongoing expansion in M17’s existing markets while entering new markets, including the US and the Middle East. This effort aims to increase the regular user base – now around 42 million users – as well as bolster the talent recruitment and social networking side of the business. M17’s model includes a strong focus on amateur artists and producers. 

M17 recorded a net loss of $22 million in 2017, compared to a $16.4 million loss in 2016. Revenue improved from $3.7 million in 2016 to $79.5 million in 2017. The company was profitable with revenue of $323 million as of May last year, according to Tech In Asia. M17 said it was targeting revenue in the range of $1 billion in November last year, when it acquired Taiwan-based streaming service MeMe Live.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Expansion
• Media
• Consumer
• Taiwan (China)
• Vertex Ventures
• Innoven Capital
• TMT