Qutoutiao’s Online Reading Platform Midu Raises $100 Million
On October 17, the Chinese mobile content platform Qutoutiao (lit. fun headlines) announced that its online reading platforms Midu Novels and Midu Novels Lite (collectively known as “Midu”) have completed a $100 million round of financing led by CMC Capital.
Midu has raised $118 million in total, adding to the $18 million raised in Series A financing completed at the end of last year. According to Qutoutiao, the money raised will be used for content, authors and marketing, as well as consolidating and enhancing the competitiveness of Midu in the industry.
“We are happy to see the completion of the transaction and we are confident in Midu’s long-term growth potential,” said Mr. Eric Siliang Tan, Chairman and CEO of Qutoutiao.
SEE ALSO: Are Chinese Online Novels the McDonald’s of Literature?
As for traditional internet literature, the common business model charges fees from paid users. Since 2018, several rising internet platforms including Midu have been breaking ground with the new “free read and advertising” model, which allows easier user acquisition for internet reading by providing new options for those unwilling to pay.
According to the Mobile Internet Online Reading Insight Report released by the third-party organization QuestMobile in May this year, “Free reading model has altered the industrial landscape and contributed to the large number of users in a short period of time.”
It is worth noting that the average daily time spent on Midu has reached over two hours per user, far exceeding the industry average. According to the 2018 China Digital Reading White Paper released by the China Audio-video and Digital Publishing Association, as of 2018, the total number of digital readers reached 432 million, with average reading time reaching 71.3 minutes per person.
