Showing a keen interest in the Indian buzzing startup sphere, Xiaomi has made its first investment in the country by leading a $25-million (Rs 170 crore) funding round into Hungama Digital Media Entertainment.
Hungama is an emerging brand that aggregates and publishes entertainment content online.
Other VCs apart from Xiaomi that participated in this new round of funding includes existing Hungama investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, and Intel Capital.
Worth noting, this happens to be the first investment by Xiaomi outside its home-turf China.
As part of the new deal between the companies, Xiaomi will integrate Hungama’s video-on-demand service with the Mi platform available on television and smartphones (the former is yet to mark its debut in India).
Neither of the companies was willing to pass on the specifics of the integration to the press. However, it was duly clarified that once the integration process is complete, users will have access to some free as well as some paid content.
Over the past few years, Xiaomi has invested in 55 companies in China that collectively constitute the fast expanding Mi Ecosystem, Economic Times noted. Of the 55, only 20 have launched products whereas 29 have been incubated.
The move to invest in Hungama stands as a testimony to Xiaomi’s ambitions of building a similar, extensive ecosystem in India too.
Commenting on the new tie-up with Xiaomi, Hungama founder and CEO Neeraj Roy told the media that the latest round will further bolster the company’s tv and movie services.
“Hungama Play (app) will shortly add 1500 hours of TV content in Indian languages and English,” he added.