Indonesian news reader app Kurio gets funding from CyberAgent Ventures

Indonesian smartphone news reader app Kurio announced today it received series A investment of an undisclosed amount from Japanese venture capital firm CyberAgent Ventures and an unnamed group of angel investors. Sources tell DailySocial it’s “close to” seven figures of US dollars.

Kurio is the fifth Indonesian company to receive investment from CyberAgent. The firm previously invested in ecommerce companies Tokopedia, Bilna, and VIP Plaza, as well as game developer Touchten.

See: Japan’s CyberAgent Ventures expands into Thailand with new office in Bangkok 

Since the application launched in late 2013, Kurio claims it has received over 50,000 downloads. The app understands what news to deliver to users based on their preferences, but also recognizes and delivers topics related to their careers. Users can select topics from the start menu and browse articles they find interesting.

Kurio founder David Wayne Ika told DailySocial, “I personally really wanted an investment from Cyber​​Agent and it was the only VC I approached since we made our prototype […] I respect that they can see our long-term vision.”

CyberAgent Ventures representatives, as well as Anthony Liem of Merah Putih Inc, will join Kurio’s board of directors.

The new round of funding will be used for Kurio’s product development and recruiting process. Ika says Kurio has already recruited 20 new employees, but is still looking for more software developers.

(UPDATE 10/1/14: David Wayne Ika recently informed us that Satya Witoelar, founder of Koprol (acquired by Yahoo!) will join Kurio as VP of product. Kurio has also partnered with local smartphone Polytron, and the app will come pre-installed on several of its upcoming models later this year.)