Tudou, a Chinese video-sharing site, has just raised 143 million yuan. But because Tudou’s funding was provided by the likes of General Catalyst Partners, and Tudou’s advertisers include companies such as Ford, KFC, and Pepsi, it would probably make more sense for me to state that amount as $19 million.
That’s the way Tudou phrases it in an official press release. The release goes on to describe the company as “China’s largest Internet Video Web site,” and states, “According to AC Nielsen, 40 million Chinese Internet users are currently watching more than 1.2 billion videos each month off of the Tudou platform and according to iResearch, Tudou now accounts for over half of all valid visiting of online video sharing in China. Tudou’s users also spend the most time per visit of any major video site at approximately 40 minutes per session.”
Those are very good numbers, and are only likely to rise; this display of dominance prompts Search Engine Watch’s Frank Watson to call Tudou “the Chinese equivalent to YouTube.” Unfortunately, when trying to visit Tudou, I got a “problem loading page” message – perhaps that $19 million can iron out some technical issues.
In any event, “Tudou has continually made the right decisions to maintain its leadership position in China’s online video market and dictate the actions of its competition,” says David Orfao of General Catalyst Partners. That competition includes the giant Sina, and Danwei’s Jeremy Goldkorn lists a number of other businesses, as well.
