Vuclip Raises $8M Series C

Mobile video sharing company Vuclip raised $8 million from a group of investors including New Enterprise Associates and Jafco Ventures. The company has expanded to markets including India, Indonesia and Malaysia. Nick Sturiale of Jafco and Krishna Kolluri of NEA worked on the deal; specifics were not publicized.

PRESS RELEASE:

After capturing a worldwide audience of mobile consumers who love to share and consume videos on-the-go, Vuclip has raised $8 million in Series C funding to fuel growth worldwide and augment its regional teams. Venture firms New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Jafco Ventures led the Series C round.
The rapid growth of Vuclip can be summed up simply: it took 31 months to serve up its first billion videos, then only eight months to reach the second billion. The drivers for this growth are the continuing explosion of video sharing among mobile users and compelling local content from key partners. Vuclip now ranks as the largest mobile video provider in top mobile markets including India, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Vuclip is also sparking mass viral consumption in Latin American countries such as Mexico and Venezuela.
“We’ve spent the last few years cracking the code on delivering entertainment to 5,400 mobile devices in 200 countries,” says CEO Nickhil Jakatdar. “We’re seeing a true phenomenon in aggressive viral growth driven by sharing of compelling local video content.”
Vuclip has become the largest independent mobile video service by focusing on a browser-based solution that leverages html5 technology and by securing exclusive local content in major international markets. The Vuclip service has become so popular that major mobile carriers are now distributing Vuclip directly to consumers. Some of these distribution partners include Bharti Airtel, DoCoMo and Vodafone (India), Maxis (Malaysia), Telkomsel and XL. Vuclip’s content relationships with premium content providers include The Associated Press (AP), Billboard, Falcon Interactive, and Times of India
“Vuclip has quietly grown into one of the biggest mobile video services worldwide,” says Krishna ‘Kittu’ Kolluri, General Partner, NEA. “Their premium video offerings — like Video Alerts and Movie Portals for the various regional markets — makes them appeal to the masses.”
Vuclip will also use the funding to expand mobile video analytics to help advertisers and content owners understand and improve their offerings based on consumption and region-specific trends.
“Global mobile video consumption is a trend we’ve followed closely and Vuclip remains the only independent player leading this movement,” says Nick Sturiale, General Partner, JAFCO. “We are thrilled to invest in a company with such a deep and loyal user base.”
About Vuclip
For millions of people around the world, Vuclip is an essential part of their daily lives. Vuclip serves video on-the-fly, on any device, and in any country, providing unparalleled reach for its partners. Every day Vuclip delivers more than 10 million videos to consumers in over 200 countries. Vuclip is headquartered in Milpitas, California with offices in Los Angeles, Singapore, and Beijing. Check out Vuclip on your phone: m.vuclip.com
About Jafco Ventures
Based in Palo Alto, California, Jafco Ventures is a venture capital partnership focused on companies that are emerging leaders in the communications, Internet, semiconductor and software industries. Jafco Ventures was formed in 2003 and currently manages more than $450 million in capital. The fund’s charter is to invest in venture opportunities with true breakout potential where Jafco Ventures can meaningfully add value with capital, the experience of seasoned venture capital investors, and the deployment of our Asia business development team, to help portfolio companies generate revenue from customers in Japan and other parts of Asia. For more information, visit www.jafco.com.
About NEA
New Enterprise Associates, Inc. (NEA) is a leading venture capital and growth equity firm focused on helping entrepreneurs build transformational businesses across multiple stages, sectors and geographies. With approximately $11 billion in committed capital, NEA invests in information technology, healthcare and energy technology companies at all stages in a company’s lifecycle, from seed stage through IPO. For additional information, visit www.nea.com.
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