Youku

Youku is a Chinese video-sharing website that enables users to search, view, and share high-quality video content across multiple devices. Employing the tri-networks integration model, Youku’s online video content ranges from user-generated content and self-produced serials to licensed professional content. Its platform offers a space for individuals and institutions to upload and share their treasured moments, independent films, viral videos, and other creations. Youku was first listed on the New York Stock Exchange on December 18, 2010. As of 2007, the company had raised over $40 million in funds, which came from existing investors, including Maverick Capital, Brookside Capital (an affiliate of Bain Capital, LLC), Sutter Hill Ventures, Farallon Capital, and China-based Chengwei Ventures, LLC. In the same year, AC Nelson Co. announced that Youku's overall video viewing (VV) rate had exceeded 100 million, and the daily UV rate exceeded 12 million. On March 12, 2012, Youku reached an agreement to acquire Tudou in a stock-for-stock transaction, the new entity being named Youku Tudou, Inc. Youku's major competitors include Tencent Video, 163 Video, and Sohu Video.