Next Entertainment Raises $25 Million for New Live-Streaming App MeMe

TAIPEI: The Taiwan-based global live broadcasting platform company Next Entertainment has completed $25 million in Series A funding for its newly launched live-streaming service MeMe.

The project’s lead investor is Inke, China’s number one live streaming app. Additional funds have been supplied by games developer FunPlus, Chinese venture capital company GSR Ventures and San Francisco-based investment firm Mayfield.

MeMe is a live-streaming platform that enables anyone to stream, interact with their audience, build a following and get paid to do so. Viewers on MeMe can interact with performers and other viewers, showing their support and increasing their own following and profile along the way. The service launched in Taiwan in October 2016 and will launch in other territories in 2017.

“As far as monetization goes, you can think about this as digital tips for performers who have hyper-local appeal,” commented Mayfield’s managing director, Tim Chang. “If you bid high enough, you might be the preferred fan or the one who gets to make a request. It mimics real-life behavior at clubs, where you buy someone a bottle of champagne.”

“We’re excited about live streaming as a form,” added Next Entertainment CEO Andy Zhong. “By building ways for content creators to engage and interact with their fans in real time and to earn money doing it, Inke has changed people’s lives. We’re going to expand that globally.

“There’s a revolution happening in the entertainment industry, and we’re happy that our partners at Inke and our Series A investors are part of it.”

GSR’s managing director, Richard Lim, added, “As an investor in Inke we saw its incredible growth in China. Their partnership with a proven east-west entrepreneur like Andy is very exciting, and we’re thrilled to be able to work with them both again.”