CJ ventures into fandom platform with $17 mn investment

CJ Group, one of South Korea’s largest family run conglomerates, or chaebol, is venturing into the fandom platform business with a 22.4 billion won ($17.5 million) investment in B My Friends.

The startup specializing in the global K-pop fandom business announced on Tuesday that it received the total amount of funds from the group’s holding company CJ Corp. and its digital business affiliate CJ OliveNetworks.

The group is now the second-largest shareholder of B My Friends – with the holding company having a 10% stake and CJ OliveNetworks taking up a slightly bigger 14.2% stake in the startup.

Former executives of Weverse Company founded B My Friends in January 2021. The mobile app and web platform are part of entertainment behemoth Hybe Co., best known as the talent agency of global pop sensation BTS or Bangtan Boys. 

B My Friends’ founders Bae Sang-hoon and Kim Jun-ki were the COO and CTO respectively of Weverse Company and Weverse Shop while at Hybe. The two hired Seo Woo-seok, formerly the head of Weverse Company and Hybe’s technical advisor, as the startup’s CEO earlier this year. 

So how does CJ plan to benefit from the latest investment?

The group hopes to make its various content available on “b.stage,” provided by B My Friends. CJ also hopes to connect its branding and infrastructure to the product. 

B.stage is a customized platform solution that allows creators to set up their own services and monetize their content. CJ’s objective is to construct a fandom service that utilizes its existing intellectual property and network. 

CJ OliveNetworks boasts non-fungible token technology, which will be used to generate creator NFTs. The affiliate will use its artificial intelligence technology to create automated short clips that cater to different viewer preferences and block content inappropriate for different audience groups, to minors, for example. 

CJ Group stressed the latest acquisition of B My Friends shares is part of the conglomerate’s mid-to long-term vision. 

Back in November, CJ Group chairman Lee Jay-hyun outlined four growth engines for the group in the long term; namely culture, platform, wellness, and sustainability. The conglomerate will invest a total of 10 trillion won in the new sectors by 2025. 

“We will lead the industry by expanding into the creator economy with the collaboration between b.stage and CJ’s various content, technology, and infrastructure,” the company’s CEO Seo said. 

Write to Soo-Jung Ha at agatha77@hankyung.com
Jee Abbey Lee edited this article.