17LIVE
17 Live is a global live social entertainment platform, operating in eight different markets across the continents.’ The business was first founded in Taiwan in 2015 by Jeffery Huang. The company has maintained its leading position since its entry into the Japan market in 2017, becoming the biggest platform for live entertainment in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other countries. The platform now has more than 46K contracted artist globally, attracting more than 2million active users monthly. Alongside its success, 17 Live has also encountered some headwinds throughout the years. Most notably was the unsuccessful US IPO attempt  in 2018. Since then, the company has furthered affirmed its ambition to reform and transform the business. Some key initiatives include the hiring of current CEO Hirofumi Ono, spin-off of Paktor (dating software business unit), full buy-out of founder Jeffery Huang, acquisition of MEME and HandsUp, etc. 17 Live now is the #3 live broadcasting platform globally, formed by its flagship live stream app 17LIVE (LIVIT in English markets), MEME Live and live stream e-commerce platforms HandsUP and FBBuy. History. 17 Media (Now 17Live) was founded by Jeffery Huang 2015 in Taiwan. In 2017, 17 Media closed  out US$33M in series B round to merge with dating software Paktor, as well as to enter the Japan and Hong Kong market. Within one year, 17 Media became the #1 market leader in Japan. In 2018, the company raised $25M in series C round as it got ready for US IPO, which failed to materialize. Despite the failed IPO attempt, the company continued to push for international expansion, including creating ‘LIVIT’ for the English-speaking markets to enter US, India, and North Africa. In 2019, 17's flagship live streaming app reached 10M downloads  in Japan, and the business continues to push for both organic and inorganic expansion. Some key M&A highlights in the year include the acquisition of MEME Live in Southeast Asia, as well as HandsUp, a live e-commerce platform. In 2020, M17 closed out $26.5M in Series D round to continue organic growth in Japan, US and Middle East. In the same year, the company also sold its dating app business, Parktor, to rationalise M17 into a live-stream pure play business, followed by the appointment of its current Global CEO, Hirofumi Ono. With the buy-out and  departure of founder Jeff Huang, the parent holding company M17 Entertainment Limited officially renamed as 17 Live Group. Features. On 17LIVE, artists (LIVERs) are able to broadcast live, and post photos and videos from their album. The app has been designed for LIVERs to simply open the App, and start sharing contents without the need to edit or professionally curate their videos. The platform cultivates LIVERs, supports them with a local content management team, and provides artists with various functions, such as real time chatting, gifting, fan clubs, interactive competition and events. Today, 17LIVE has 46 thousands contracted artists and  more than 2.3 million MAU, who spend 44 minutes on the platform every day. 17LIVE continues to advocate content-driven philosophy and delivers diverse topics, from politics and music to entertainment, to broaden its audience groups. 17LIVE also hosts offline flash events and concerts to attract new users and support LIVERs better connect with their fans. Operation. 17LIVE has over 700 employees globally. The app provides few monetization models for LIVERs on the platform, including: In the past, 17LIVE has encountered some regulatory headwinds with reported incidents of inappropriate livestream content on the platform. The incidents were direct results of  the lack of oversight and supervision capability in place in the business at the time. Over the years, 17LIVE claims to have put in tremendous manpower and effort into improving, monitoring and maintaining control over both the live stream content and the KYC procedures and systems.