500 Startups Announces Investment in Shakr Media

500 Startups has announced an investment in Shakr Media, the first time the world renowned Silicon Valley seed fund and startup accelerator has taken on a Korean company. Shakr Media is currently developing a sophisticated online video creation service which takes users’ multimedia content from cloud services or social media and automatically turns it into a professional looking video.

Up until now, 500 Startups has managed 50 million dollars in capital and has invested in over 300 rising stars in Silicon Valley including Slideshare and Wildfire. Several Korean startups have previously received attention from 500 Startups, but this is the first time that a company has actually received investment. The news has caused excitement for other Korean ventures who are looking to go global and receive investment from top investors in Silicon Valley.

CEO of Shakr Media David Lee said, “We’ve gained a whole new level of confidence as a competitive service through this investment from global super angel fund 500 Startups. We plan to further perfect our service by the end of the year using a total funding of 2 billion won.”

CEO of 500 Startups Dave McClure was able to visit the company on a recent trip to Seoul. Commenting on the investment he said, “We gave high points to the fact that Shakr Media was designing and planning its service by reading the needs of its users. When B2C services are related to things which cost money in everyday life such as family, children and weddings, consumers will respond positively.”

Shakr Media plans to reveal its service next week in China at Open Web Asia, and will be followed by previews of the service in Korea, Japan and other areas in the region. The service will be launched privately at a location in Asia through its channel partner, to be announced at the Open Web Asia conference.

Show & Tell with Shakr Media from David Lee on Vimeo.