Vietnamese firm Pops secures $30m, launches content-streaming platform

Southeast Asian digital entertainment firm Pops Worldwide has raised US$30 million in an investment round led by independent private equity firm Eastbridge Partners and Mirae Asset-Naver Asia Growth Fund, a joint initiative between Mirae Asset Financial Group and Naver Corporation.

With the funding, the two leading investors will have a significant minority stake in the Vietnam-headquartered company, according to a statement.

Photo credit: Pops Worldwide

Pops also announced the launch of Pops App, where users can stream free content such as original series and shows, as well as other videos for music, entertainment, and kids. The new over-the-top service competes with Southeast Asia-focused Iflix and US-based Netflix.

Pops plans to use the new funds to scale Pops App across the region and venture out to new markets, according to founder and CEO Esther Nguyen. The company looks to produce more original series and shows and feature more “premium stories from global studios” for its new app, the exec added.

“We believe in the sustainable competitiveness of Pops after their great success over the last 10 years on digital entertainment in Vietnam and Thailand,”  Ji-Kwang Chung, managing director of Mirae Asset Capital, said. “We share their belief that Pops’ opportunities in the region are enormous, and we look forward to seeing their efforts to achieve even greater success.”

Founded in 2008, Pops claims to have the largest library of original, local, and international video content, with more than 620,000 digital content assets. It has hundreds of artists, content creators, and partners in broadcast television, publishing, and production on its network.

The company produces a wide variety of original content for channels such as Pops Music, Pops Kids, Pops TV, Beauty Me, HerVoice, and CoolTV. It claims to have 162 million subscribers and 3.5 billion monthly views.