Kumu

Kumu is a Filipino livestreaming and social entertainment platform that has grown into one of the most-used consumer apps in the Philippines. It began life in 2017-2018 as a messaging app with a livestreaming feature attached almost as an afterthought — the company found real product-market fit when a small group of early users became obsessively engaged with that one feature, and the founding team rebuilt the product around it.

Today Kumu functions as a hybrid of livestreaming, social networking, and virtual gifting: everyday Filipinos — and increasingly overseas Filipino workers and the broader Filipino diaspora — host and watch live broadcasts, join interactive games and talent shows, and support creators through in-app virtual gifts.

The company has raised over $100 million across multiple funding rounds, including a Series B in mid-2021 and a Series C in October 2021 led by General Atlantic — the first Series C round ever raised by a Philippine startup.

Before Kumu, there was no dedicated, Filipino-first platform for livestreamed social entertainment — Filipinos wanting to broadcast, perform, or simply connect live with an audience were scattered across global platforms not built around Filipino culture, language, or community norms.

For the large Filipino diaspora and OFW community in particular, Kumu also addresses a connection problem: staying culturally and socially tied to family and community back home in real time, not just through static posts.

Everyday Filipino content creators and hosts (from casual streamers to professional talents), general Filipino social-app users, and overseas Filipino workers and diaspora audiences who use it to stay connected to Filipino culture and community.

Kumu's edge came from an accident of product discovery rather than an initial grand plan: a messaging app that pivoted hard once its livestreaming feature showed genuine, obsessive engagement, rather than a livestreaming app cloned from an existing template.

That gave it a head start in building Filipino-specific livestreaming formats (games, talent competitions, virtual gifting economies) tuned to local audience behavior, which helped it become the Philippines' first startup to raise a Series C round and cross $100 million in total funding.