History
Youku was founded by Victor Koo (Gu Yongqiang),[10][11] former president of Chinese Internet portal Sohu. Initial funding for the site came from 1Verge, a fund raised by him. A beta version of the site was launched with limited geographic reach in June 2003, and the website was formally launched in December 2003. In 2007, the company received $25 million in funding from venture capitalists.[12] In December 2009, the company announced that it had raised a total of $110 million in private equity funding. Major investors include Brookside (Bain) Capital, Sutter Hill Ventures, Maverick Capital, and Chengwei Ventures.[13]
The company initially emphasized user-generated content but has since shifted its focus to professionally produced videos licensed from over 1,500 content partners.[13]
As of January 2010, Youku.com was ranked #1 in the Chinese Internet video sector according to Internet metrics provider CR-Nielsen[14] (keeping in mind that YouTube is banned in China). In 2008, Youku partnered with Myspace in China.[15] Later that year, Youku became the sole online video provider embedded in the China Edition of Mozilla Firefox.[16]
In January 2010, Youku and competitor Tudou announced the creation of a video broadcasting exchange network, under which Youku and Tudou will cross-license professionally produced video content.
Youku recorded gross revenues of 200 million RMB in 2009.[17]
On 8 December 2010, Youku was listed at the New York Stock Exchange for its first time. The stock closed at $33.44 on its first day of trading giving the company a market capitalization of approximately $3.3 billion. For the first 9 months of 2010 Youku reported revenue of $35.1 million and recorded a loss of $25 million during this period. YouKu.com seems to have no relation to the Chinese domain youku.cn.
Victor Koo was once an employee of Bain & Company, one of the most prominent management consulting firms in the world.[18]
In December 2018, the company announced a layoff of the president of the unit Yang Weidong due to his assistance to the police in investigation about the case of seeking economic benefits.[19]
The mobile app of Youku was banned in India (along with other Chinese apps) on 2 September 2020 by the government, the move came amid the 2020 China-India skirmish.[20][21]
According to Quest Mobile, Youku had 374 million monthly active users in December 2017, increasing to 448 million by December 2024.[22]
In its financial report for the quarter ending December 2023, Alibaba reported a $1.2 billion loss from Youku’s operations, which was written off in support of the streaming service.[23]
Merger
On 12 March 2012, Youku and Tudou two of the biggest online video companies in China announced plans to merge,[24][25] creating one of China's biggest video sites.[26] Prior to the announcement of the merger, Youku was the #11 website in China, and Tudou was #14.[27] The company's name was changed to Youku Tudou Inc.[28] The chairman of the board is Victor Koo, the founder of Youku.[29] The company had a stock listed on the NYSE, YOKU before being acquired by Alibaba Group
