Chinese Video-Sharing Site Youku Secures $40 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 21, 2009 - 7:31am.

Beijing - Chinese video-sharing site Youku.com announced that it has raised $40 million in private equity funding, led by Chengwei Ventures.

The round is being considered the first tranche of a growth financing round; Youku said it is in active discussions with other potential investors on a second tranche that would raise up to an additional $40 million.

Other participants in the round included previous backers Brookside Capital, Maverick Capital and Sutter Hill Ventures.

Beijing-based Youku counts 1,500 content partners delivering professionally-produced programming to its site, which counted 149 million unique visitors during October, according to iResearch data.

The company will use the funds to syndicate professional media, produce Web-based content, and improve user experiences on the PC and mobile devices.

Youku has now raised a total of $110 million in funding, and $10 million in venture debt to date.

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