Online video startup Viddsee reels in new funding to bring short films to Indonesia

Singapore-based video site Viddsee announced today it has raised an undisclosed amount of funding in a round led by Japanese venture capital firm CyberAgent Ventures. This latest round brings the startup’s total funding to US$2.3 million to date. (UPDATE, 13:35pm: This story has been updated to reflect the correct amount of funding Viddsee has raised so far.)  The funding will be used for growing the company, and more specifically for fueling its expansion to new markets, co-founder Derek Tan tells Tech in Asia.

The Singaporean startup was founded in 2013 and has quickly built an extensive library of instantly available Asian-made short films. It hosts content from a variety of genres, creators, and countries, accessible through web and mobile. Users can either stream films to their devices or save them for offline viewing. This is invaluable to users from territories where bandwidth and mobile data are a problem, helping the company acquire and retain that many more users.

Viddsee currently has a strong presence in Singapore, Taiwan, and the Philippines, and is now looking to expand into Indonesia. It already features Indonesian content and has made inroads into the country by partnering with organizations such as local movie theater network Cinema21. Derek says the company is focusing on bolstering its Indonesian presence by localizing and contextualizing its offering for that particular market.

The service currently has over two million active users, Derek reveals. 70 percent of that traffic is on mobile (mobile web, iOS and Android apps), highlighting the strength of mobile platforms in the region. “Mobile is the device [people] use to consume a lot of entertainment,” Derek says. “We’re creating the avenue to capture that consumer behavior.”

See: Viddsee is more than Vimeo for short films. It’s an online home for Asia’s filmmakersCyberAgent is a good match for Viddsee, as the VC understands the value of online video, Derek explains. The startup’s approach to curating and distributing cinematic content drew the VC’s attention, and Viddsee stands to gain from its expertise and people on the ground in the territories it seeks to expand in.

“We are confident that technology will facilitate the new wave for cinematic content in the online video space, especially in markets like Indonesia, where mobile devices are the first touch points to the internet for many. Our investment will enable Viddsee to realize its market potential and its commitment to grow through accessibility and engagement,” Takahiro Suzuki, general manager of CyberAgent Ventures in Indonesia, said in a statement.

CyberAgent had announced a new US$50 million fund for startups in Indonesia and Southeast Asia in June 2015.

Viddsee is not in direct competition with streaming video sites such as Netflix, iFlix, and Hooq, but the increased activity in the OTT (Over-The-Top content) space places the startup in the middle of a rapidly developing industry and presents an opportunity for the startup. Netflix announced its imminent arrival in Singapore earlier this month, while iFlix and Hooq continue to grow in Southeast Asian markets. Singapore telco Starhub also announced the HBO Go streaming service would be available in the country through a partnership with the US-based cable powerhouse.