MX Player raises $110 million from Tencent: Details here
What's the story
Popular over-the-top video platform MX Player has raised $110 million in a funding round led by Chinese tech giant Tencent. This is the first external fund-raise by the company post its acquisition by Times Internet, which, reportedly, also participated in the latest round. For Tencent, however, this is the second investment in a Times Internet-backed start-up; the first being music-streaming service Gaana. Here's more.
Company
MX Player has 175 million monthly active users in India
Started in 2011 as an offline video player, MX Player now dominates as an over-the-top video streaming platform with over 280 million monthly active users globally and around 175 million monthly active users in India. The company, which has also launched a bunch of web series on its app, runs on an ad-based model and does not charge any monthly fee from its users.
CEO's statement
Goal to be one of the world's largest entertainment platforms
"Our vision is to be one of the world's largest entertainment platforms, serving our users across their online entertainment needs starting with streaming video and beyond," said Karan Bedi, CEO of MX Player, while speaking to media. He also revealed that the company has partnered with three of the five largest television networks in India, including Sony Entertainment and Sun TV Network.
Future plans
How MX Player will utilize the fresh funds?
MX Player will use the fresh funds to bolster its content portfolio by producing more original content and expanding further into the entertainment genre. Apart from that, the company will hire new talent pool and expand its footprint in other parts of the world. Presently, it is beta testing its video streaming service in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Information
Meanwhile, here's a look at the previous investments
Before this, MX Player was acquired by Times Internet Ltd. (TIL) for $147 million last year. And now, with the latest funding, its valuation stands at over $500 million. The service is challenged by streaming players like Netflix, Hotstar, ALTBalaji, Amazon Prime Video, and ZEE5.