Alibaba invests $50m in US TV remote app Peel

Hongping Zhang, managing director of Alibaba's investment arm, has joined the firm's board of directors. Alibaba invested $5 million in Peel last year.

Launched in 2012, the app allows Android and iOS-enabled smart phones to be used to control televisions. It has been downloaded 96 million times. The app makes money by charging TV network operators to promote their shows.

Peel CEO Thiru Arunachalam told Re/code that the company would generate about $8 million in revenue this year and he expects to reach $20 million by 2015. He added that the company is under no pressure to integrate any Alibaba e-commerce elements into the app.

The new capital will help Peel develop a remote app that also controls other devices, such as air conditioners and lights. 

Peel has previously raised more than $35 million in venture funding across three rounds. Investors include Redpoint Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Harrison Metal and Translink Capital.

Last year, Alibaba teamed up with Wasu Media Holdings, a Hangzhou-based digital media operator backed by VC investors, to launch a smart TV set-top box - Wasu Rainbow - to expand into internet TV business. Earlier this year, Alibaba founder Jack Ma and several co-investors bought a 20% stake in Wasu for RMB6.54 billion ($1.06 billion).

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