Creator firm Jellysmack pumps US$30m to grow APAC creator economy

Global creator company Jellysmack has partnered with Malaysia-based WebTVAsia, allocating over US$30 million to boost the growth of top video creators in Asia Pacific. WebTVAsia currently partners YouTube in Asia and has a roster of creators that reach 880 million subscribers, the press statement said.

With the funding, WebTVAsia’s content creators can hire teams, build new studio space, launch products, and increase quality content creation, among others. The new partnership further strengthens Jellysmack’s support of top global creators and aligns with WebTVAsia’s mission to empower Asian Pacific creators with opportunities and resources to maximise the return on the investment of their content.

Jellysmack's roster includes major creators such as MrBeast, How Ridiculous, JianHao Tan, Food Kingdom, Junya, and PewDiePie. It uses AI to detect promising creators and to date, it has earned over US$175 million for creators, the company said.

Meanwhile, WebTVAsia’s creator network of 3,500 channels spans 10 APAC markets including Singapore and Malaysia. It has partnered with companies such as Google/YouTube, Meta, TikTok, Universal Music, Warner Music, and Tencent to jointly develop digital talent in Asia.

Ezechiel Ritchie, Jellysmack’s APAC GM, said partnering with WebTVAsia to deploy capital to APAC creators is a unique opportunity. "WebTVAsia is a key partner that understands the pulse of Asia and can foster creators’ growth via our creator financing programme," he added. According to Ritchie, this initiative is going to have a huge impact on content creators in the region enabling them to scale up through a variety of new financial technology solutions personalised to their unique needs.

WebTVAsia's group CEO Fred Chong said over the past three years, the company has generated over US$100 million in direct income for its creators. "As a creator myself, I see this partnership with Jellysmack to be a game-changer that will open up new possibilities for creators to bridge the Web 2.0 and 3.0 worlds," Chong said. He added that the next six to 12 months will see WebTVAsia launching new creator tools and solutions including content NFTs, digital wallet, virtual identity for metaverse, fan community, and Web 2.5 monetisation models.

This latest collaboration is also part of Jellysmack’s newly established creator finance division, JellyFi, which is a US$500 million initiative to help creators achieve their boldest ambitions. A tech-powered creator growth solution, JellyFi allows creators to use Jellysmack’s unique algorithm to analyse video performance, estimate future earnings, and calculate the value of their videos to receive financing options. The customised financial solution empowers creators to grow their businesses, by delivering upfront funding so that they can focus on doing what they do best - creating must-watch content for their audiences.

The deal with WebTVAsia follows Jellysmack’s nine-figure Series C investment from SoftBank, which resulted in the company becoming a unicorn. The company’s creator technology stack also earned. Combined Jellysmack-managed channels receive 10 billion views each month.

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