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Singapore based Investment Banking and Advisory firm, Midas Investments Consulting Pte Ltd has launched a $150 million Midas Global Media Opportunities fund. The fund will invest in a diversified portfolio of Media and Entertainment related projects, assets and ventures such as Films (including mainstream / Indie films – Production and Distributions), Digital and Broadcast Content (including Short Films, Web Series, Television), Global Events (Entertainment, Social and Corporate), Talent Management and New Age Media technology firms. The Fund will diversify its allocation across the different industry verticals and across geographies. While the main geographic focus is India and China, the fund will also invest in selective Media and Entertainment related opportunities across Europe, Australia, Canada and the United States. To begin with, Midas Entertainment LLP, which is the Fund’s Singapore based operating entity for deployment into various media projects and ventures, has entered into a Long-Term MoU and Strategic Partnership with the two fast growing media companies – Indie Muvizz Pte Ltd and M! Capital Ventures Pte Ltd.
Indie Muviz Pte Ltd owns the Digital Content and Online Streaming / VoD platform Muvizz.com. Under the Muvizz.com brand, Indie Muviz has produced two of the most viewed and acclaimed short films in India – Taandav and Kriti. Muvizz has also co-produced a couple of feature films in the recent past and is organising the first edition of the South Asian Film Festival in Singapore. M! Capital Ventures Pte. Ltd is a Singapore based Movie Production, Distribution and Film Investment entity which focusses on mainstream Film productions and distributions. Details of the MoU are not available at this stage. Besides these two entities, Midas Entertainment LLP is also in advanced discussions with a leading Hollywood Studio and a China based Production entity for their US and China strategy, respectively. The $150 million amount has been raised in tranches of $30-50 million through commitments from a mix of investors such as Financial Institutions, Private Equity Funds, Corporates, Pension Funds as well as Ultra High Net-Worth Private Investors and large family offices. Mr Inder Preet Singh, Managing Director Midas Investments and Chairman Midas Entertainment LLP, says “This is a very interesting space for our investors not only from a diversification perspective but also with the exponential growth in Mobile and Digital technologies that we are witnessing, the demand for content will only increase with time and we want to capitalize on this. Our Vision is to leverage our Global Investors and Entertainment Industry network to build a World Class Media and Entertainment Company promoting social and cultural integration globally.”
Abhayanand Singh, Founder of Indie Muvizz Pte Ltd, says “Muvizz has been committed to independent films and filmmakers and this partnership will only help all parties in creating some great content together and more importantly in taking them to a wider audience globally.”
Saurabh Gupta, Managing Director and Co-Founder, M! Capital Ventures, says “We are really excited with our Strategic Partnership with Midas Entertainment LLP. Our entity, which is backed by The Asian Film Fund and Private Investors has already managed to be associated with profitable and some of the top performing Indian films since last year and with this partnership, we can now further expand our slate of mainstream projects across India and the region.”
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Singapore based Midas Investments Launches $150M Media & Entertainment Fund with Primary Focus on India

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Singapore based Midas Investments Launches $150M Media & Entertainment Fund
Details of the MoU are not available at this stage. Besides these two entities, Midas Entertainment LLP is also in advanced discussions with a leading Hollywood Studio and a China based Production entity for their US and China strategy, respectively. ? Print this article Font size - 16 +
Singapore based Investment Banking and Advisory firm, Midas Investments Consulting Pte Ltd has launched a $150 million Midas Global Media Opportunities fund. The fund will invest in a diversified portfolio of Media and Entertainment related projects, assets and ventures such as Films (including mainstream / Indie films - Production and Distributions), Digital and Broadcast Content (including Short Films, Web Series, Television), Global Events (Entertainment, Social and Corporate), Talent Management and New Age Media technology firms. The Fund will diversify its allocation across the different industry verticals and across geographies. While the main geographic focus is India and China, the fund will also invest in selective Media and Entertainment related opportunities across Europe, Australia, Canada and the United States. To begin with, Midas Entertainment LLP, which is the Fund’s Singapore based operating entity for deployment into various media projects and ventures, has entered into a Long-Term MoU and Strategic Partnership with the two fast growing media companies – Indie Muvizz Pte Ltd and M! Capital Ventures Pte Ltd.
Indie Muviz Pte Ltd owns the Digital Content and Online Streaming / VoD platform Muvizz.com. Under the Muvizz.com brand, Indie Muviz has produced two of the most viewed and acclaimed short films in India – Taandav and Kriti both featuring Manoj Bajpayee in the lead. Muvizz has also co-produced a couple of feature films in the recent past and is organising the first edition of the South Asian Film Festival in Singapore. M! Capital Ventures Pte. Ltd is a Singapore based Movie Production, Distribution and Film Investment entity which focusses on mainstream Film productions and distributions. Their upcoming mega productions include films such as Dhanush’s first Hollywood film, The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir directed by Ken Scott and stars Erin Moriarty, Academy Awards Nominees Barkhad Abdi and Berenice Bejo. The film, based on a French Best Seller novel, is slated to be released in English, French and Tamil next year; Siddharth Anand’s next, the remake of the Hollywood cult action classic RAMBO starring Tiger Shroff and Anup Singh’s next, The Song of Scorpions starring Irrfan Khan and Golshifteh Farahani which recently made its world premiere at the 70th Locarno Film festival. Over the last one year, M! Capital Ventures has also successfully invested in film distributions like Baahubali 2 (Hindi), Sachin A Billion Dreams, Raees, Kaabil, Rustom and now Toilet Ek Prem Katha from Singapore. Details of the MoU are not available at this stage. Besides these two entities, Midas Entertainment LLP is also in advanced discussions with a leading Hollywood Studio and a China based Production entity for their US and China strategy, respectively. The $150 million amount has been raised in tranches of US$ 30-50 Million through commitments from a mix of investors such as Financial Institutions, Private Equity Funds, Corporates, Pension Funds as well as Ultra High Net-Worth Private Investors and large family offices. Mr Inder Preet Singh, Managing Director Midas Investments and Chairman Midas Entertainment LLP, says “This is a very interesting space for our investors not only from a diversification perspective but also with the exponential growth in Mobile and Digital technologies that we are witnessing, the demand for content will only increase with time and we want to capitalize on this. Our Vision is to leverage our Global Investors and Entertainment Industry network to build a World Class Media and Entertainment Company promoting social and cultural integration globally.”
Abhayanand Singh, Founder of Indie Muvizz Pte Ltd, says “Muvizz has been committed to independent films and filmmakers and this partnership will only help all parties in creating some great content together and more importantly in taking them to a wider audience globally.”
Saurabh Gupta, Managing Director and Co-Founder, M! Capital Ventures, says “We are really excited with our Strategic Partnership with Midas Entertainment LLP. Our entity, which is backed by The Asian Film Fund and Private Investors has already managed to be associated with profitable and some of the top performing Indian films since last year and with this partnership, we can now further expand our slate of mainstream projects across India and the region.”
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Singapore based Midas Investments Launches $150M Media & Entertainment Fund

It’s the Best Time for OTT Players to Invest in Technology & Digital Content: Vishal Maheshwari, India Head, Vuclip
Muvizz.com is an Over The Top (OTT) or Video On Demand (VOD) platform offering cult, classic and independent films to cinema lovers around the world. It offers only a curated list of titles ranging from short films to documentaries to feature films in various languages to its users so that they don’t have to go through thousands of titles to decide which one to watch. Every week a selected number of titles are released on the platform. The platform will soon start releasing one title a day in future with specific days reserved for Hindi features, non-features like documentaries and shorts, regional cinema and foreign language film. Muvizz plans to continuously build its library of films across languages and genres so that it be a one stop to watch world cinema- cinema that matters! Edited Excerpts from an interview with Abhayanad Singh, Co-Founder of Muvizz.com
How was it started? Being an avid movie lover, entrepreneur Mr. Abhayanand Singh came across a problem, he was unable to watch his much awaited “Gangs of Wasseypur” in Singapore. He knew this problem was not only faced by him, but by Indians all across the globe and he had to come up with a solution. That’s when the idea of movies on demand struck him, he knew that this would not only solve the release issues, but also would be a platform where movie fans like him and many more could relive their favorite cults classic again and again. He jointly founded Muvizz with Piiyush Singh who heads the Indian Operations in January 2015. Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpayee is the brand ambassador of Muvizz and has been associated with the brand since its inception. What are your unique key features you are offering? The whole idea is to create a social community of Cinephiles where movies are used as a medium for discussion and debates on its platform. They have “The Critics Corner” wherein viewers can express themselves about the film and also have the option to like and comment as well. Users can create their profiles on Muvizz and they can follow other users similar to popular social media channels which make the content discovery process easier. There is a section called “The Diary” wherein people discuss about social issues using cinema. How is it difference from existing players from the market? We think we are the only platform that attempts to offer an experiential platform as against all others that offers a transactional platform. The elements of curation of world cinema and social make us different from everyone else. Tell us about funding status currently? Muvizz received angel funding of Rs. 2.2 crores ($350000) from Singapore based investors on October 2015. It is currently in the process of raising USD 3 to 5 million for basic operational expenses as well as creation of original content. What is the monetization model you are using existingly? Muvizz.com’s business model is dependent on the number of subscriptions. What are your traction details as of now? Muvizz has access to more than 12 million users due to the past success of some original content produced. It is also increasing it catalogue of content by acquiring a lot of world cinema and has already identified 500 such titles. The users will soon have access to the platform using Apple TV, Roku and Samsung smart TV in addition to the existing android and IOS app currently. What are your future plans for this startup? We have our very own film festival coming up called Singapore South Asian International Film Festival (SGSAIFF). We also have plans to collaborate with critically acclaimed actors and directors to write blogs for Muvizz.com. What kind of marketing efforts have you put in? We have presence on various social media channels through which we conduct our digital marketing. We intend to drive a lot of campaigns in the coming few months like “Be a critic” and various other such ATL and BTL activities. What kind of challenges you faced initially while setting up this platform? Piracy remains the biggest challenge for platforms in general. Also, this whole space is in its nascent stage and therefore discovery of new monetization models remain a continuous challenge. What kind of market size & opportunity are you eyeing? There are some 300 million smart phone users in India and online video streaming is expected to be a $300 million market currently but growing in double digits month on month. In fact, the industry is now entering a stage wherein it will witness staggering growth due to external factors like the reducing data cost etc. The real opportunity therefore lies in the ability of a platform to identify correctly what the users want to watch. We must not forget that technology is the foundation of this content business. Share this article:

Muvizz.com In Talks to Raise $3-5M for Operational Expenses & Content Creation

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Mumbai-based startup, Muvizz.com , that provides a platform for those who appreciate quality cinema, has acquired streaming rights for the critically acclaimed film, The Path of Zarathustra. This is Muvizz.com’ s first acquisition of rights to stream a movie right after it stops showing in theaters.The movies can be viewed on smartphones, tablets and desktops. Founded by Abhayanand Singh, Muvizz.com is home to many such independent, cult and classic films which helps them reach global viewership. It aims to create a worldwide social community of cinephiles where they can not only get access to award-winning titles, but also interact with like-minded people on cinema. The Platform also encourages new talents by backing them with funds and resources, so they can enrich the world with quality video content. Also Read:  US Based Interactive Intelligence Acquires Mumbai Based Customer360
Abhayanand Singh, founder of Muvizz.com said, “The Path of Zarathustra is an excellent addition to our catalogue. The film is extremely important for the Parsi community and we are incredibly pleased and proud to give it a digital platform which helps it reach to a wider audience. The film is completely in sync with what we are trying to do as a platform for independent cinema and we are very much honored to be associated with it.”
Also Read:  Google To Host Contest For Early Stage Startups; Winner To Get Direct Entry Into Launchpad Accelerator Program
The film is a part of ‘PVR Director’s rare release’ that will have a worldwide digital premiere and then will be available to stream on Muvizz.com. Last year, Muvizz raised $350 K (INR 2.2 Cr) in angel funding from three Singapore-based investors to increase traffic to its website. Welcome to Flash Feed , your essential source for breaking news and innovation from around the web – bite-sized and updated all day. Advertisement

Muvizz.com Acquires Streaming Rights For ‘The Path of Zarathustra.’

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While Netflix launched in India earlier this morning, we spoke with Indian and international on demand video companies to understand their strategies and ask how and what affects them. Here are their responses:
How are you modifying your catalog to compete with Netflix? Uday Reddy, CEO of YuppTV: YuppFlix was launched primarily for the expat audience outside India, and we’ve been focused on ensuring that regional and Hindi content is the single point of destination for movies on demand. We will continue to add more TV shows and some original content as well. We’re doing premium content for outside India, but for India, the price point, the market, the volume, the way people watch is very different so we put a lot of different types of content together for Rs 99. On original content: When we launched Bazaar, people uploaded some 400 short films in less than 15 days. There’s a lot of creativity and potential there, but we’re yet to finalise on a budget for original content. And through Bazaar, we become a video enabler platform where users can put content and make the maximum revenue from it. Advertisement
Abhayanand Singh, founder of Muvizz.com: Netflix is the global leader in offering studio content and caters primarily to the more mainstream titles however; and another entity called Mubi has existed simultaneously with Netflix. We are more like Mubi, catering to independent titles which get lost on such platforms. We are also a social platform, differentiating us from whatever exists in the same space today. We bring the best of curated world cinema to our users. Abhesh Verma, COO of nexGTV: We’d already started evolving our catalogue and position since last year from being an aggregator to a content creator producing original and premium content. That emphasis is here to stay and we foresee the ‘content’ battle to intensify further. However, Netflix’s entry ratifies our presence in this business and our strategy of being subscription-led. Michael Smith Jr. , CTO of HOOQ: This launch has been anticipated and should accelerate the expansion of the nascent OTT market in Asia. However, it doesn’t impact our strategy given that HOOQ is focused on the best of Hollywood and local content and the combination gives us an edge in these markets where local content is equally or more important to consumers than Hollywood content. *
How does Netflix’s India entry impact the sourcing of content? Uday Reddy, CEO of YuppTV: More than competing with, we complement Netflix because we’re focused on linear Indian TV broadcast and movies on demand. Netflix is more Hollywood content driven. In the Indian market, rights are aligned exclusively with satellite broadcasters, so premium platforms like Star and Eros want to release content through their own platforms. On price points, I don’t think anything beyond Rs 99 can scale in a big way for a content format like that of Netflix’s. In the US, mainstream linear TV channels like Directv, Dishtv and Comcast charge anything between $40-60 per month and people go for it because there’s sports content, 300-500 channels, including HD ones. Whereas when it comes to Netflix, its $10. So very high price points may not get a massive uptake. Abhayanand Singh, founder of Muvizz.com: Netflix’s entry to India is a big positive as it validates the potential of VOD in our country. I can already see a lot of people who were sitting on the fence starting to describe them. Since the industry will grow, there could be some impact on the cost of acquisition though; we stand less affected since we offer quality and not quantity. Abhesh Verma, COO of nexGTV: Content is one of the most fundamental assets of this business and costs of sourcing quality content have become almost prohibitive for everyone. This, together with the consumer’s taste for consuming and appreciating fresh, innovative stories is providing momentum to original content. We expect this shift to further amplify and new and finer content clusters to emerge as players define their USPs. Michael Smith Jr., CTO of HOOQ: The content market is vibrant and competitive given there are many services already in India. With more serious players entering, it should further develop this ecosystem. *
How do you see it affecting consumer choice in India? Uday Reddy, CEO of YuppTV: Even if we add Hollywood type of content for Indian audiences, they will pay a premium to access it. As the industry evolves, we have to see how ad CPM rates for the Indian market are. In China, the video industry is primarily ad supported, because of the volume and scale, but in the US, its subscription based. Abhayanand Singh, founder of Muvizz.com: Customers will have a lot more choice to make and eventually they will settle down with maximum to two such platforms. One could be a mainstream platform and other could be a niche player like us. Ultimately, it will all come down to individual programming and user experience. We welcome Netflix to India. Abhesh Verma, COO, nexGTV: Entry of new players in any market is undoubtedly positive for consumers as it gives them greater choice, even in a market dynamic as ours. Those who’ve been waiting for such a service will likely opt for it, depending upon their comfort with other parameters such as pricing, network availability, internet plans, ease of payment etc. However, this development should definitely help Indian consumers appreciate the positives of a subscription-led model and its pricing compared to the limited choice one gets on free platforms. Michael Smith Jr., CTO of HOOQ: The big issue all streaming companies face is piracy and unwillingness of customers to pay. With multiple players now active and providing quality content, consumers are beginning to enjoy the golden age of the promise of online video and HOOQ is excited to be at the forefront of that trend. Image Credit: Newsbie Pix under the CC-BY 2.0 license
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How Netflix’s Indian entry affects video players in the Indian market

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Muvizz is a company that provides entertainment news and insights within the film and television industry. It offers a platform for movie trailers, TV show updates, casting calls, and industry-related reviews. It is based in India.

Date	10/1/2015
Round	Angel
Amount	$0.35M
Investors	Abhinav Patodia, Ashish Todi, and Kumar Shwetabh
Valuation	$XXM
Revenue	0 FY undefined
Sources	1

First funding	Last Funding	Investor	Rounds	Type
10/1/2015	10/1/2015	Abhinav Patodia	1 Angel	Angel Investor (Individual)
00/00/0000	00/00/0000	Kumar Shwetabh	Subscribe to see more	Angel Investor (Individual)
00/00/0000	00/00/0000	Ashish Todi	Subscribe to see more	Angel Investor (Individual)

First funding	10/1/2015	00/00/0000	00/00/0000
Last Funding	10/1/2015	00/00/0000	00/00/0000
Investor	Abhinav Patodia	Kumar Shwetabh	Ashish Todi
Rounds	1 Angel	Subscribe to see more	Subscribe to see more
Board Seats
Type	Angel Investor (Individual)	Angel Investor (Individual)	Angel Investor (Individual)
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