Tickled Media raises 7-figure funding from Mirae Asset, Naver

TICKLED Media, owner of parenting portal theAsianparent, has raised an additional seven-figure sum in Series C funding from the Mirae Asset-Naver New Growth Fund, set up by Mirae Asset Financial Group and Naver Corp.

This comes after Tickled Media raised an undisclosed eight-figure sum in Series C funds in July led by Fosun International and joined by investors including Chinese e-commerce company JD.com, venture firm ATM Capital and Redbadge Pacific.

Tickled Media will use the latest funding for its push to manufacture its own direct-to-consumer line of maternity and baby products. The startup will also allocate more resources to improve its tech infrastructure and invest in machine learning support.

Jikwang Chung, head of the new growth investment division at Mirae Asset Capital, said in a press release: "We are always on the lookout for forward-thinking, fast-growing companies to invest in, and that's exactly what theAsianparent is. We've seen how they've grown... and are happy to be a part of their journey."

Roshni Mahtani, founder and CEO of Tickled Media, reiterated that the expansion to commerce is a "natural progression" for the platform operator.

"As a purpose-driven maternal health-tech company, access to safe and healthy products at an affordable price point is complementary to the content we provide to our thirty-million strong parenting community," she said.

Tickled Media recently named an ex-Rocket Internet executive as finance lead, and is gunning towards a goal of US$100 million in revenue in the coming years.