New VC for PandoraTV

Pandora.TV, South Korea's top ranked video sharing site just secured Series B financing in the amount of $10 million from DCM, a Silicon Valley VC firm. Existing investors Altos Ventures, STIC and Saehan Ventures also participated in this round. This funding is earmarked to support the Pandora's rapid growth and expand its service offerings.

Founded in 2004 PandoraTV now has 12 million users with over a billion page views per month. The video sharing community now holds a considerable share of the South Korean market over U.S. based YouTube according to a press release by Pandora on Monday.

Pandora has been innovative in allowing their users to essentially create their own TV networks and shows. Individual users can also advertise products and create their own personal channels on this unique platform. South Korea is one of the most "wired" countries in the world, and they have obviously fallen in like with PandoraTV.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this funding is the indication that Silicon Valley investors are reaching out to grab segments of the world's Web 2.0 video machine. DCM (formerly known as Doll Capital Management) essentially manages over $1.5 billion in assets.

Well, I am not fluent in Korean, but the site has to be extremely popular to have that many offerings. I expect western taste does not parallel that of the average South Korean, so I guess my aversion to ads before videos playing is not an issue with Pandora's users. I find it very interesting that Silicon Valley investors are following the trend towards Asia with their dollars, as we see many gaps begin to fill in throughout the business sector.

DCM has funded many projects worldwide and in Asia in particular. Other news from Pandora included the announcement that David Chao, co-founder and general partner of DCM, has joined its board of directors. PandoraTV is definitely an interesting venture and one should watch closely.