Youku Raises $40 Million, Pulls In About $29 Million This Year

Youku is a YouTube replica in China that has recently raised $40 million in additional funding.  Thus far, Youku has raised $110 million in total private equity funding.  Youku also has $10 million in venture debt funding and expects to bring that up to $40 million more.  Youku launched in 2006 and is exploring an option to host professional content like TV shows. Youku is currently working with about 1,500 license holders.

Youku plans to launch a mobile portal using proceeds from the funding round.  There are about 10 million 3G mobile phone users in China and Youku is the most visited video website in that area.  Youku will make roughly 200 million yuan ($29 million) this year.  To prevent copyright infringement, Youku uses digital fingerprinting technology.

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