Ivi, a Russia-based online television streaming platform backed by media company Prof-Media, has agreed about $40m in new funding.
State-owned investment vehicle Russian-Direct Investment Fund and Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company joined private equity firm Baring Vostok, debt and equity fund manager Flashpoint VC, venture capital firm RTP Global and investment advisory firm Winter Capital in the round.
Founded in 2010, Ivi provides an online video player with more than 25 million monthly active users that allows them to stream films and television programs on smartphones, tablets and smart TVs. It claims it holds 42% of Russia’s on-demand over-the-top video market.
Oleg Tumanov, Ivi’s founder and chief executive, said: “We are glad to be supported by our existing shareholders and attract additional capital from a pool of new investors led by RDIF and Mubadala.
“A strong interest of Russian and foreign investors is crucial for further development of Russian legal video-on-demand market. This investment will boost Ivi development and provide an opportunity to improve content offering for our users, particularly due to the expansion of our own content production.”
Baring Vostok led a $40m round for the company in 2012, investing alongside Prof-Media, Ru-Net (now known as RTP Global), Tiger Global Management, and Frontier Venture, according to TechCrunch. Tumanov told TechCrunch the company had raised several dozen millions of dollars in investment prior to that round.