Start-up Kumu raises $5M

PHILIPPINE live streaming app Kumu has raised approximately $5 million in a Series A funding round to roll out new features and scale up its operations.

The Series A funding was led by Openspace Ventures, and Philippine conglomerate investors including Globe Telecom Inc. unit Kickstart Ventures, ABS-CBN Corp. and Gobi Core Philippine Fund, a local partnership with Gobi Partners, an international investment firm which also manages the Alibaba Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund.

Kumu will be using the new capital to scale up its current operation which has enjoyed unprecedented growth in recent months. The company recently reached 3 million registered users as the fastest growing social app in the Philippines, commanding almost one hour of average daily usage for a mostly GenZ and Millennial userbase.

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The community enjoys a wide selection of over 25,000 livestreams broadcasted on the Kumu app each day.

The startup is also experiencing massive growth in revenue. The Kumu app was listed as the #1 top grossing social app in the Philippines Google Play Store and #10 in Canada, and has ranked among the 50 top grossing social apps in 12 other countries including the United States.

Moreover, over 100 Kumu livestreamers now earn at least P20,000 each month from streaming original content, as the company irons out the establishment of its own content creator school to encourage more users to download and gain profit.

“This commitment from the country’s largest companies and from established international investors reinforces our mission of creating a world-class live streaming platform for Filipinos, by Filipinos,” Roland Ros, Kumu co-founder, said.

“We are betting on the exponential growth of the Philippines’ digital GDP while optimizing a user experience that is razor-sharp focused on Gen Z’s and millennials’ attention spans. Gamifying authentic connections has been one of the most enjoyable developments on the app,” added Ros.

In addition to scaling up operations, Kumu will also be using the freshly raised capital to roll out new features, such as a hybrid AI/community-driven live commerce platform, the first of its kind for a Filipino company. This will allow fans to purchase products while watching their favorite livestreamers, giving content creators more opportunities to earn from their streams.

“Our livestream e-commerce pilot generated almost 300 product purchases in a 10-minute period,” said Ros.

“We’re excited to see how our Kumu Livestreamers use this platform to better engage with their followers. The more we empower our creators to drive the digital influence of e-commerce in the Philippines, the more we empower consumers, fintech players, and logistics companies to participate in the digital marketplace of our motherland,” Ros added.

Since its inception, Kumu has also strengthened its partnerships with other startup trailblazers and established brands including Angkas, Shopback, GCash, Piattos and FoodPanda.

Kumu said its partners have likewise enjoyed advertising opportunities with the tie-up and better digital visibility in its creative and unique campaigns.

Kumu is run by a diverse executive team of young game-changers in the global startup ecosystem, with key hires from Shopee, Facebook’s Confetti, GMA Network, Xurpas, LalaFood and Bigo Live, among others.

Kumu last raised its $1.2 million funding from Gokongwei family-owned Summit Media and Philippine-based venture capital Foxmont Capital in 2018.

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