Paktor Parent M17 Raises $26.5 Million in Series D Funding

13th May 2020 Dominic Whitlock

Live streaming company M17 Entertainment has announced that it raised $26.5 million in its latest Series D funding round.

The Taipei-based company looks after several subsidiaries including online dating brand Paktor.

The latest funding round, which is larger in value than M17’s most recent one, was led by Vertex Growth Fund and also included contributions from companies across Asia and New York City.

M17 is planning to use the additional money to support its continued growth in Japan, as well as expand into new key markets like the US and Middle East.

CEO Joseph Phua said in a statement: “M17 provides a virtual stage for performers to explore what is possible both artistically and financially, by allowing them to showcase their talent and interact directly with fans everywhere in real-time.

“This new funding allows us to continue our mission of empowering artists around the world, through our online live streaming and social commerce platforms.”

Like most other services that offer live video entertainment, M17 has seen a record high user engagement over the past couple of months. Furthermore, there has been a significant increase in the number of new artists signing up as they try to source new streams of income.

Jeff Chang, Managing Director of Vertex Growth, also added: “M17 is a beneficiary from the accelerating shift towards building a digital economy. We are proud to work with M17 to realise their vision of building the next-generation live entertainment and social commerce platforms.”