Gushcloud International

Althea Lim and Vincent Ha are the co-founders of Gushcloud International,[4] which has offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, and the US, and 300+ employees.[5][6] Gushcloud International works with influencers, content creators, and celebrities in Asia. The establishment has five working units: marketing, talent, investment, entertainment, and technology.[1]

In 2015, Yello Digital Marketing Global (YDMG), based in South Korea, gained control of the company by buying 62% of its shares for USD 7.5 million[7][8] but in November 2018, the co-founders bought back the 62% shareholding from investor YDMG for USD 8.2 million.[5][9] Between 2015 - 2018, it grew from three to nine markets.[7]

Russell Simmons, the co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, became the President in September 2019.[10][1]

In 2014, a blogger from Singapore, Xiaxue, alleged that Gushcloud had unethical practices,[11] to which Gushcloud issued a point-by-point rebuttal.[12] In 2015, Xiaxue once again alleged that Gushcloud had paid celebrity bloggers to write negatively against the rivals of Singtel, which Singtel and Gushcloud initially denied but later apologised.[13][14][15]

In 2017, the company raised USD 3 million from South Korea’s YG Group,[16][17] a record label and media company, and an unspecified amount from Japan's D2C Inc, which is a joint venture between NTT Docomo, Dentsu Inc, and NTT Advertising, Inc.[3] In 2018, Gushcloud entered into a joint venture with YAN Digital, the digital arm of YAN Media Group[18] and Hahm Shout, a Korean public relations firm.[19]

In May 2018, the company invested in Summer Beauty House, a social commerce venture.[20][21] In February 2019, Gushcloud International acquired the marketing agency, DSTNCT[4] and launched Ribbit, a micro influencer network, in April 2019.[22][23] In February 2020, it acquired MODA Creative.[24][25] In September 2019, it raised USD 11 million from Korea Investment Partners, Golden Equator Ventures, and Kejora Ventures.[26][27]

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