In its latest move to invest in the future of media, Summit Media has taken a minority stake in Filipino live-streaming app Kumu.
Launched in February 2018, Kumu is the brainchild of Filipino-American technopreneur Roland Ros. Positioned as the platform for Filipino creativity, it has since ranked among the most-downloaded apps in the country and is quickly gaining popularity among the millennial and Gen Z audiences.
Featuring user-generated live chats as well as company-produced interactive game shows like Quiz Mo Ko and Pinoys Doing Stuffs, the platform offers various advertising opportunities and leverages the social media experience to tap into the growing global gift economy and online shopping.
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Kumu’s seed round included co-investor Foxmont Capital Partners, a Philippine fund managed by the founders of MyTown and founding members and investors of Grab Philippines.
“Our investment in Kumu is an important addition to our portfolio. We are committed to investing in the future of media, as we are cognizant of our audiences’ rapidly changing needs,” said Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng, Summit Media’s president and CEO.
Ros added, “We are very excited about our partnership with Summit. Clearly, there are a lot of synergies with its portfolio of strong digital brands with loyal audiences.”
Summit Media, the parent company of this website, is the country’s leading digital lifestyle network, with 15 brands attracting over 33 million followers on social media and over 20 million monthly unique visitors to their websites. Kumu is the second digital start-up Summit has invested in. Last year, Summit also took a stake in POPxo, the leading website for millennial women in India.
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