AcFun, a China-based video streaming platform backed by telecommunications and internet group SoftBank and video sharing platform Youku Tudou, has shut down, China Money Network reported on Friday.
Founded in 2007, AcFun operated a video sharing platform aimed at a young demographic. Its content centred on animated films, music, sports and games, and it offered the ability for real-time comments from other users.
However, the company has undergone several changes in management and was reportedly unsuccessful in securing an official business licence. It has not paid employees since October 2017 according to Tencent News, and the lease for its servers expired last month.
Digital content publisher Chinese All Digital Publishing was set to pay $36m for a 13.5% stake in AcFun in November 2016, buying shares from SoftBank unit SoftBank China Venture Capital (SBCVC) and Youku Tudou. It is not clear however if that deal closed.
AcFun secured $60m in a January 2016 series B round led by SBCVC that included unnamed additional participants. Youku Tudou had supplied $50m in series A funding for the company the previous year.