Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi has arrived in India with a major investment as it is leading the $25 million funding for online entertainment giant Hungama Digital Media Entertainment, along with Intel Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners and Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.
The Chinese firm which raised $1.1 billion in 2014, has invested in over 50 startups globally, and is aiming at localised internet services and smartphone content in India now. It has been investing in video content, mobile gaming and internet services to increase revenue, The Economic Times reported.
Hungama is looking at expansion and strengthening movie and television services, as Xiaomi has announced plans of integrating Hungama’s content including ringtones and themes into its platforms. Xiaomi vice president Hugo Barra told Live Mint that,
“We think of smartphones as a platform for us to deliver Internet services, and this includes content. As our user base in India grows and as 4G penetration in India continues picking up, we will start to see more and more consumption of digital media through Xiaomi devices.”
Hungama boasts of 65 million active consumers every month, as it has a partnership with 700 content creators and is all set to add 1500 hours of TV content in Indian languages and English.
Meanwhile Xiaomi is already in talks with other content and software startups for potential investment in India, as it also incubates firms that it invests in. A company spokesperson told Live Mint, “we are already the leader in content with over 400,000 hours of video content across our Mi Video app, Mi TVs and set-top boxes.”
Xiaomi entered Indian smartphone markets in 2014, and set up a manufacturing uit in Andhra Pradesh, at 75% of Xiaomi phones sold in its second largest market India, are made in the country.
Feature image source: Reuters