METUB secures $15.5 million from Morgan Stanley-managed fund to bolster creative economy

According to DealStreetAsia, METUB secured this funding in a Series B round led by North Haven Thai Private Equity, a fund established by Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia in partnership with Bangkok Bank. The company plans to raise additional capital from other investors as part of this round.

Documents show that North Haven also acquired shares from Malaysia's WebTVAsia, an existing shareholder in METUB. DealStreetAsia reports that North Haven is set to become the largest shareholder in the company.

In 2023, METUB raised $6 million from investors, including Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India and Do Ventures.

The Vietnamese startup, which has helped elevate the careers of prominent artists like Son Tung M-TP, Chi Pu, and Noo Phuoc Thinh, has now received a $15 million boost from one of the world's largest investment banks.

Founded in 2014 by Ha Thi Tu Phuong and Nguyen Van Dung, METUB is a digital content publisher and YouTube multi-channel network in Vietnam, operating under the motto ‘Creator First’. The company supports the promotion, distribution, business development, and production of videos for online content creators.

METUB supports over 1,700 content creators in Vietnam in growing their communities and diversifying their income across multiple media platforms. METUB's services include content production and distribution, executing partner content marketing campaigns, and influencer marketing.

One of the singers who has found success with METUB's support is Son Tung M-TP. In 2017, Son Tung M-TP became the first Vietnamese singer to reach one million subscribers on YouTube and received the YouTube Gold Play Button. He also led the most popular music video category on YouTube Rewind for two consecutive years. Additionally, METUB has successfully developed the YouTube channels of top Vietnamese singers such as Noo Phuoc Thinh and Chi Pu.

According to an October 2023 report by market intelligence firm Cube Asia, celebrity marketing directly contributed nearly $11 billion to the net merchandise value of e-commerce in Southeast Asia last year.

Vietnam-based online recruitment startup JobHopin has drastically scaled down its operations to a skeleton staff to serve its remaining customers, according to Dealstreetasia.

According to an MoU signed on July 3 between the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam (MoST) and the Ministry of Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises and Startups of South Korea (MSS), both parties will enhance cooperation on the development of an innovative startup ecosystem.