Firework, the US-based operator of an online short video-story platform, has raised $55m in a series A round featuring conglomerate Sumitomo and brewer Asahi, the Economic Times has reported.
The corporates were joined by venture capital firms GSR Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners as well as VC group IDG Capital.
Formed by holding company Loop Now Technologies, Firework has built a mobile app which enables users to add short-form videos to their websites to drive engagement.
Firework said it is looking to expand in India, its largest market in terms of audience, hire more technology and customer support staff and further develop its recently launched livestream product. India shut its market to China’s Tiktok short video platform in 2020, creating a market opening.
The company raised $11.3m from undisclosed investors in 2018 at a reported $100m valuation, before adding $20.4m in February 2020 and $13.5m in October, according to securities filings.
