Influencer marketing firm Gushcloud gets $3m from K-wave giant YG

Big Bang – one of the most popular bands on the YG roster. Photo credit: YG Entertainment.

Gushcloud has received US$3 million in funding as part of a strategic investment from South Korean record label and media company YG Entertainment. The money will be used to grow Gushcloud Entertainment, the Singaporean startup’s new business group focusing on talent management and content creation.

The deal will also see YG move into Gushcloud’s Singapore office, using it as the headquarters for its Southeast Asia operations.

YG is one of the biggest players behind Korean pop culture’s worldwide explosion in popularity, often referred to as the “K-wave.” Some of the most recognised performers signed up to the company are boy band Big Bang, pop duo Akdong Musician, and YouTube sensation Psy, as well as actors Cha Seung-won, Choi Ji-woo, and Lee Jong-suk.

The Korean company’s Southeast Asia head Charlie Cho said in a statement that the decision to invest in Gushcloud was driven in part by the opportunity it sees in encouraging wider consumption of Korean pop culture throughout the region.

“We want to leverage on the company’s physical presence… to export more of YG’s entertainment assets and acts into Southeast Asia,” he said. “Brands can now connect directly with YG in Southeast Asia should they want to engage with our artists.”

The Gushcloud management team. Photo credit: Gushcloud.

Gushcloud said that the strategic investment would help it to increase its presence in promising markets such as Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. It also stated that its new Gushcloud Entertainment business will use the funding and partnership with YG to invest in “vertical based social media talent and content management companies focused on beauty, parenting, sports, music and gaming.”

Launched back in 2011, Gushcloud’s social media-focused “influencer marketing” service raised seed capital from local VC fund Singhome in early 2012. Not long afterwards it began its overseas expansion, opening a California office in March 2012. Korea’s Yello Mobile acquired a majority stake in Gushcloud in 2015 in a deal reportedly worth more than US$7.5 million.