VULCAN POST - Aug 23 - With the newly launched 'Spoken' feature, users can record a 15-second voice memo to introduce themselves to people viewing their profile. Paktor says this is intended to enhance typical dating profiles by adding an auditory dimension, which can help people get to know each other better. About "80% of new Android users and 60% of new iOS users" have already recorded at least one voice memo.
by Alanna Tan
See full article at Vulcan Post
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OPW - Apr 18 - Want to get your head around Asia? There's a couple conferences we'd like to put on your radar. But best book soon, as they're coming up fast. They're in Singapore at the amazing Marina Sands Hotel. I'm speaking at both of them.
The 1st is the GDI Singapore Dating Conference on May 13-14th, and is 250 GBP. Leaders from Paktor, Pairs, The Meet Group, Matrimony and Spark Networks will be speaking.
The 2nd is the Global Love Conference on May 15-16th, is $295, and will be more matchmaking focused. Leaders from Viola.ai / Lunch Actually, 2 Red Beans, Paktor, and the Matchmaking Institute will be speaking. (Here's a feel good $50 discount code 50OFFSG)
I hope to see you there. - Mark Brooks
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MARKETING MAGAZINE - Mar 13 - Time Out Singapore has collaborated with dating agency Paktor Group's GaiGai to increase brand awareness of its product offering by hosting a dating event called "Find Me a Blind Date". Both Time Out Singapore and Paktor Group will also be presenting this event, while Winestone at Novotel Singapore is the exclusive venue and F&B partner.
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ENTREPRENEUR - Dec 11 - Paktor, best-known as a Tinder rival in Asia, was launched in June 2013. Since then, the app has launched in 12 countries, including Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, and Hong Kong. It secured funding from investors like Yahoo Japan-affiliate YJ Capital and Singapore's Vertex Ventures. The founders of Paktor are primary school classmates - Joseph Phua and Ng Jing Shen. After completing his MBA from University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, Joseph returned to Asia to start Paktor. The app, however, couldn't handle the high volume of users and crashed. He then reached out to Jing Shen, a University of Michigan graduate, for help, who at that time was working with Amazon as a software engineer and was a part of the team that re-architected one of the world’s first cloud computing services, S3. Today, Paktor has 15M users. In 2014, the founders launched its offline dating counterpart, GaiGai which specializes in matchmaking via its in-house matching system and personalization.
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BUSINESS TIMES - Dec 6 - M17 Entertainment, the parent company of dating and networking app Paktor, has raised $25M. The cash will go towards technical upgrades and new features for M17's live content-streaming platform, said the company. It also plans to invest in recruiting, training and promoting its content producers or "streamers", and in expanding its content and services. Terry Tsang, CEO of Hong Kong game developer Madhead, led M17 Entertainment's funding this time round. Other investors included Stonebridge Ventures and existing shareholders. M17 Entertainment was formed from the 2017 merger of Singapore mobile dating app Paktor and live-streaming platform 17 Media, founded by veteran Taiwanese rapper Jeffrey Huang Li-Tchen. Paktor co-founder Joseph Phua Jiexian became the group CEO of M17. It had planned an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange in June 2018, but trading was delayed and then shelved. M17 later said that it instead turn to private fundraising for $35M.
by Annabeth Leow
See full article at Business Times
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com
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TECH IN ASIA - Sep 6 - In the US, ~70% of tech startups "stall at some point" in the venture capital process and "fail to exit or raise follow-on funding," according to a 2017 report from research firm CB Insights, which followed ~1K companies. But startup activity in Southeast Asia has never been as robust as it is now, with funding for homegrown ventures hitting a record $7.86B in 2017. Tech in Asia interviewed founders of companies in different stages of growth.
Ng Jing Shen, co-founder and CEO, Paktor
Together with Joseph Phua, the former Amazon software engineer launched dating app Paktor in 2013. Ng has helped it grow to ~880K monthly active users, and Paktor now claims a user base of ~15M. Its largest markets are in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and South Korea.
Q: In a landscape dominated by US-based dating apps, how do we create a dating app more suitable for Asian culture?
A: We were aware that dating is extremely culturally sensitive, and the app we were creating needed to have its very own DNA.
Q: How should we differentiate ourselves from other dating apps?
A: We ensure high levels of localization in user experience.
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MARKETING INTERACTIVE - Aug 28 - Paktor's GaiGai has partnered with Mediacorp's Channel 5 to launch a brand new 12-episode series is set to premiere on 27 August 2018, titled Hungry for Love. The reality dating show will see three bachelors and three bachelorettes find their compatible match. Paktor is the largest dating agency in Singapore.
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DEAL STREET ASIA - July 1 - Taiwan-based M17 Entertainment, the parent company of Singapore-based dating and networking app Paktor, has officially withdrawn its IPO in the US, a month after suspending its debut on the New York Stock Exchange. The press statement did not mention the reasons for M17's decision to cancel its IPO, which had initially aimed to raise a total of $115M.
by Mars Woo
See full article at Deal Street Asia
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
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TAIWAN NEWS - June 13 - Live streaming and dating app group M17 Entertainment is postponing its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as it had obtained $35M in private capital. M17 said the new round of funding would allow the company to remain private as well as "lively" and flexible, while continue to expand its business in Asia. The new funds came from Infinity Venture Partners of Japan, Convergence Ventures of Indonesia, and Majuven Capital and Global Grand Capital of Singapore.
by Matthew Strong
See full article at Taiwan News
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
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TECH CRUNCH - June 7 - M17 Entertainment, a Taipei-based live streaming and dating app group, priced its IPO this morning on the NYSE and was expected to open trading today. But with just a little more than two hours to go before market closing, it's still not trading, and no one seems to know why. M17 has had a rocky non-debut so far. Originally targeting a fundraise of $115M of American Depository Receipts (shares of foreign companies listed domestically on the NYSE), the company concluded its roadshow raising less than half of its target, for a final investment of $60.1M. The company priced its ADR shares at $8 each. The company's main product is a live-streaming product where creators can build their fan bases and brands. Fans can purchase virtual gifts to send to their favorite artists.
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SEEKING ALPHA - May 22 - M17 Entertainment intends to raise $115M in a U.S. IPO. The company provides an online live streaming and dating app for the more developed countries in Asia. The firm has developed a live streaming platform known as 17 Media. The platform was launched in Taiwan in July 2015. 17 Media had 33.3M registered users as of March 31, 2018. The company also operates Paktor, launched in Singapore in 2013, and Goodnight, M17 Entertainment's main dating apps. The platform allows artists to stream performances at any time and from anywhere with an internet connection. 2017 revenue was $79.5M with gross profit of $14M. The firm will use the net proceeds from the IPO for expansion into Japan and other new markets; for content development, including PGC and new content formats; and the remainder for strategic merger and acquisition opportunities.
by Donovan Jones
See full article at Seeking Alpha
See all posts on Paktor
See all posts on Goodnight
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
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E27.CO - May 13 - M17 Entertainment, the company that owns Paktor and live-streaming service 17 Media, is hoping to raise US$115M in IPO. M17 made ~$90M in revenue in 2017, but operated at a loss of US$61.8M. In Q1 2018, the company made $37.9M and is operating at a loss of $26.9M. The strategy for the startup is to expand into Japan, expand content offerings, grow the number of artists on the live-streaming service and achieve profitability. Paktor has 14.6M people using its dating services, but that is split between the brands of Paktor, Goodnight and Kickoff.
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E27.CO - Jan 22 - Paktor's CEO Ng Jing Shen believes that online dating is far superior to the traditional way of finding potential partners, that is, via a workplace or school. "The 'class-size' of the online dating pool is bigger," Ng says. On the Paktor platform, there are ~880K monthly active users, with 180K coming from Singapore alone. Founded in 2013, Paktor now has a presence in 7 markets across APAC.
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E27 - Dec 7 - Singapore dating app Paktor, which is owned by M17 Entertainment, has released a new feature that will allow users to invite friends to help them pick the right match. Called Matchmaker, the mini-game allows existing Paktor users to invite other Paktor users or non-users to swipe on profiles with them. A minimum of three players - including the host - is required to initiate the game. All players are given 30 profiles to swipe and 10 seconds to make their decisions on each profile. At the end of the game, the matchmaker with the most number of swipes that corresponds with the host's swipes will be crowned the best matchmaker. The matchmakers will then send a randomised complimentary gift to that profile and break the ice. The recipient can then chose to respond to the host. Matchmakers can also track the user's progress with the match.
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PE HUB - Oct 27 - Paktor Group, a Southeast Asia dating app provider, has appointed Ng Jing Shen as CEO. Jing Shen will succeed Joseph Phua. Also, Paktor has promoted Shn Juay to COO. Prior to co-founding Paktor app, Jing Shen was a software engineer at Amazon.com in Seattle. Juay joined the Paktor Group in 2015 as head of marketing. Paktor is backed by K2Global and MNC Media Group.
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