As TechCrunch reported yesterday, video publishing platform Ooyala from the US plans to bolster its activities in Asia after raising a $22 million series D round (the company is now funded with $42 million in total). TechCrunch quotes CEO Fulcher as saying that future markets include places like Japan, Taiwan, China, and Korea.
What’s interesting is that some of the fresh money comes from Asian investors, namely Chinese private equity firm CID and Itochu Technology Ventures (ITV) from Japan. While the amount of money CID invested is unknown, The Nikkei is reporting that ITV (which is the investment arm of major trading and Fortune 500 company Itochu) has participated in the new round with $2 million.
In Japan, Ooyala has been cooperating with Osaka-based NTT Smartconnect since January this year and now offers a localized version of its service.
Ooyala is currently being used by 500 companies worldwide, but especially in Japan, it faces stiff competition by its American rival Brightcove. Brightcove Japan already boasts deals with over 100 local companies after it was established in 2008, funded by the world’s biggest ad agency Dentsu, major IT outsourcing company transcosmos, and other local firms.
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