China’s live streaming boom may be about to pay off globally for Beijing start-up

Say goodbye to text messaging. Even Snapchat-style social interaction, enriched by photos and videos, is becoming oh-so dated.

The new buzz in China is live video streaming with Chinese characteristics.

Chinese American entrepreneur Andy Tian wants to make “live streaming” a mainstream social media format in the West by using the Chinese formula of combining revenue collection with real-time interactive entertainment, and taking it global.

“In terms of social and mobile, China innovates faster than the Western world. I want to take the advantage of the advanced technologies, products and business trends in China, and take them international,” said Tian, co-founder and chief executive officer of Asia Innovations Group, a Beijing-based start-up focusing on developing mobile social and online entertainment products for global audiences.

Live streaming in China, which Credit Suisse forecasts will be a market worth US$5 billion in 2017, is what Tian sees as a golden opportunity that he can replicate in international markets.

Launched in May 2016, Asia Innovations’ live streaming product UpLive enables anybody around the world to broadcast and view real-time videos via their smartphones.