Baidu Video secures $155m financing

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Baidu Video, an affiliate of Chinese tech giant Baidu operated separately from iQiyi, has raised $155m (RMB1bn) through a funding round led by Shanghai New Culture Media Group.

Venture capital firm SAIF Partners China also participated in the funding round. Shenzhen-listed Shanghai New Culture Media Group is a TV production company that has previously cooperated with iQiyi on the production of TV programming and other content.

In a statement, Baidu said that Baidu Video will be operating separately from the parent company and would complement and create synergy with Baidu’s better-known streaming platform, iQiyi. The tech giant also said its group-buying platform Nuomi will cooperate with Baidu Video.

Headed by existing Baidu executive Hu Hao, Baidu Video also plans to launch a $77m (RMB500m) investment fund to support content producers.

Baidu CEO Robin Li and iQiyi founder and CEO Gong Yu made an offer to take iQiyi private two months ago in a deal that values the platform at $2.8bn.