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A startup known to offer immersed video experiences from red carpets and football stadiums has doubled the presence of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as accelerate the expansion of Africa, Asia and the United States.
The Pre-Series C Fund Round, led by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), has also attracted the participation of Al Jazeera Capital, Crosswork VC’s success fund, multiple existing investors and several high-profile Saudi Family Office.
IFC’s investment is particularly significant. A member of the World Bank Group, more known for investing in the emerging markets and investment in logistics, is a rare bet on customer technology and especially the so -called “immersion internet”.
“They are focusing on emerging markets and viewing us as a company that is focusing on scaling worldwide and in those markets. Our work and contents among the creators are very enthusiastic and based on our progress and development, it has many potential to build,” founder and CEO Khaled Yatrarah Said in an interview with TechCrunch.
Bhuj, previously 360vuz, not just competing locally; It is against the global giants like YouTube, Ticket, Twitch and Instagram, platforms that are already dominated by huge user bases and strong creators.
However, Bhuj believes that it has a separate offer: the immersioner, ১ 3605 degrees that puts users “inside” experiences, are LA’s Gramis, La Liga match in Spain, or Fashion Show in Dubai. Users can receive content through smart TVs as well as Apple Vision Pro and Okulus like mobile applications, web, VR headsets.
The company has signed the exclusively immersed streaming deals with the La Liga and the Professional Fighter League (PFL) and is working with more than 100 content manufacturers whose joint audience has reached the top of 100 million.
Streaming is local, but still worldwide
The expansion of the bhuj comes at a time when the global streaming growth is in the mature markets. YouTube and Tickets dominate mobile-fartic video service in the United States, while on the other hand Netflix and Disney+ are slow fighting and focusing on profitability.
However, users in emerging markets like Egypt, Nigeria, Indonesia and Kenya are still accelerating, especially in young, mobile-intellectual audiences with hunger for videos and live content.
Jatarah says Bhuj is ready to meet that demand. The platform has surpassed 1 million users worldwide, increased from 1 million in 2022 and now logged about 1 billion screen views, rising from 1 billion (when we kept the latest startup on). Its user base is a wide range of Middle East, the United States, Asia and Africa.
To accelerate its US push, the company is transferring to salaried marketing from biological growth, with the aim of converting visitors to events like Oscars and music premiers. Meanwhile, in Africa and Asia, Bhuj is investing in local partners to expand its distribution, especially with telecom operators. It has more than 40 partners in the world.
The Bhuj’s monetization model has developed from its previous days, while the platform offers about 70% of content free and produced through advertising. Now, that ratio has been transferred to 60% free and 40% premium content through annual subscription or bundled telecom offer.
The company says it has doubled the revenue in the last two years and increased by 5% in the last year. Although it refuses to share the correct number, Jatarah says that the company has reached profitability in 2023.
It is partially thanks to the model of a Uber like a Uber: instead of setting up a large production crew, furnishing bhuj trains and freelance reporters and creators for uploading shoots and upload materials, including the camera. Manufacturers often cost tools to be deducted from their future earnings.
Also, the startup supports manufacturers through its “Bhuj Studio”, an internal team that helps to edit and package quickly submerged materials. According to Jatara, it saves a few hours during the editing of the creators. It also provides the live trade features of the creators, the dominant, especially female manufacturers, allows to sell beauty products or fashion items directly during live streams.
In order to succeed, Bhuj must convince users that the immersion is not just a joke and the manufacturers convinced that the monetization is better than the ticket or YouTube. In the Middle East and some parts of Africa, where the Creator’s economy is still the subject of primary and distributed partners, it can be achievable.
However, competition in the United States and other advanced markets is stronger.
Nevertheless, Jatarah believes that more than $ 1 billion targets are booked by 2026, others can go there without carving a niche.
“YouTube and Netflix are great, but they are not making for manufacturers in Nairobi or Riyadh,” he said. “We’re making a product, network and cashing model that is a hyper-local-world-wide infrastructure.”
This scale is focused on: Now the company has offices in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Jordan and the United States to activate India and Indonesia actively. In Africa, Bhuj has already lived in Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria and says it will be launched in South Africa later this year.
“Bhuj’s Tech Edge and Global Rich have been well aligned with our mandate to support the skilled scalble platforms of the creators,” IFC Global Director Farid Phezou says disrupted technology, services and funds.