Kumu, a social entertainment network based in the Philippines, has raised an undisclosed sum in a Series C funding round.
The new round was headed by global growth equity company General Atlantic, with Openspace Ventures and SIG as returning investors.
Kumu now has over $100 million in total investment.
This is General Atlantic’s first investment in the Philippines, according to a news release.
“Kumu is rapidly emerging as a leading digital content community and social platform in the Philippines and the global Filipino diaspora,” said Sandeep Naik, Managing Director and Head (India & Southeast Asia) at General Atlantic.
“We believe an immense digital opportunity exists in the Philippines, a market that is hungry for content and ripe for disruption. Kumu’s innovative live-streaming offerings pave the way for its continued growth as a broader online media platform,” he added.
Kumu, which began as a live streaming service in 2018, claims to have gathered a user base of over 10 million registered users in over 55 countries. Virtual gifts, advertising, and e-commerce create cash for content creators, allowing them to turn engagement into profit.
Kumu creates high-quality material and co-produced the last two seasons of Pinoy Big Brother.
Cathy Garcia-Molina, the top-grossing Filipino film director, has also linked up with the business to make a film. It allows Kumu users to audition for roles as co-stars or contributors to the film’s music.
It claims to have observed early signs of product-market fit outside of the Philippines, including interest from non-Filipinos in the United States and Europe.
Kumu aspires to be the “Disney of social media,” with its community-driven content moderation system guaranteeing authenticity, positivism, and safety.
“We are less than one percent of the way to our goal,” said Roland Ros, Kumu’s founder, and CEO. “Billions of dollars are being spent on internet infrastructure, and you have a market of over 100 million people with a median age that is GenZ and millennial, with affordable, 4G-capable smartphones. That together is a perfect playground for us to build a social platform at a global scale that is founded upon deep engagement and positivity.”
“The first generation of social media was defined by passive engagement, where the platform wins through advertising, but all except the top 1 percent of creators struggle to earn a living,” said Rexy Dorado, president, and co-founder of Kumu. “We are early movers in this movement towards a genuine creator economy where anyone can earn a sustainable income from just a hundred true fans each.”
SIG co-led a Series B investment deal for the startup earlier this year. A Series A round led by Openspace Ventures preceded it.
Kumu believes the Philippines has reached a tipping point, with internet and social media usage growing by over 10% each year as a result of structural and behavioural changes. Filipinos spend at least 10 hours of their days online, with at least four of those hours dedicated to social media alone, making the Philippines the world’s social media capital.
“At Kumu, we seek to acquire a larger share of users’ mindshare and make even a couple of those hours spent online as delightful as possible for content creators and consumers alike,” says Dana De La Vega, Kumu’s VP of Strategic Management.
