Rapid growth in the Chinese online video sector has attracted interest from Western online video players like Brightcove and Ooyala, which both recently expanded into the massive market, but it's also cultivating a large crop of homegrown players as well. One of them, Shanghai-based Tudou.com, says it's looking to the West for more capital as it makes a move from its current standing as the second-largest video website in China.
The company said it plans an IPO "fairly soon," said founder and CEO Gary Wang, intending to use the funds to expand bandwidth and invest in more professional content to continue its growth. Tudou has raised some $135 million, including $50 million in August, through five rounds. Its investors include Crescent Point, IDG China, GGV Capital, General Catalyst and Singapore's state investment company Temasek Holdings, said Bloomberg.
The website launched in 2005 and currently has about 13 percent of the China market, behind segment leader Youku, which has 18 percent.
For more:
- see this Bloomberg report
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