India-based online video streaming platform Hungama Digital Media Entertainment has secured $25m in a round led by smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi, the Economic Times reported yesterday.
Intel Capital, which acts as semiconductor technology producer Intel’s corporate venturing unit, also took part in the round, as did venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners and angel investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.
Hungama operates a media streaming platform comprising video, cinema and music content spanning several Indian vernaculars, having begun life as a marketing and communications company in 2005. It has 65 million monthly active users.
The round represents China-based Xiaomi’s first investment in India, and the firm provided the funding as part of a strategic partnership that will involve it integrating Hungama’s video streaming into its Mi platform on smartphones and televisions.
Xiaomi is making the move as part of a wider strategy to replicate the diversified ecosystem it has built around its phones in China. It has invested in 55 China-based startups, according to ET, but only 20 of those have actually released products.
Intel Capital invested an undisclosed amount in Hungama in 2012, the same year as JWT, a subsidiary of marketing firm WPP, acquired a 51% stake in the company. Intel Capital subsequently teamed with Bessemer for a $40m round in 2014.
Hungama was in the process of raising $100m in March 2015, according to TechCrunch, though no confirmation has emerged that any money was raised as part of that round.