Millions turn to live streaming to earn a living during Covid-19 pandemic, as the gig economy takes hold

Many people and businesses would not have survived the pandemic if it were not for the gig economy, says co-founder of live streaming service Uplive

Asia Innovations Group, the start-up behind Uplive and Lamour, is looking at launch an IPO in New York in the second half of this year, sources say

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A livestreamer promotes products from a live streaming base during the Singles’ Day online shopping event in Hangzhou, China, in November 2020. Millions of people have turned to live streaming to earn a living during the pandemic. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 12:00pm, 25 Jun 2021Updated: 4:37pm, 11 Feb 2022

Disruptions to people’s work lives from the coronavirus pandemic over the past 16 months have fuelled significant growth in people seeking to pursue live streaming as a gig, particularly in emerging markets, according to the co-founder of Asia Innovations Group (AIG), the tech start-up behind live streaming service Uplive and dating app Lamour.

The Beijing-based company, which counts the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins, White Star Capital and Instagram’s co-founder Mike Krieger as investors, nearly doubled its registered users to 312 million at the end of 2020 as the pandemic shut down cities across the globe. User numbers topped 400 million in June, AIG said.

“We saw an explosion of streamers coming to our live stream platform,” said AIG’s co-founder and chief executive Andy Tian. “The gig economy is the only economy in the pandemic world. It’s the at-home economy. Many, many people and many businesses would not have survived the pandemic” without the ability to work in the gig economy, he said.

Live streaming is a trillion-dollar industry in China, where social networking and entertainment meet marketing and e-commerce. China’s retail economy has become influencer-driven, with almost all online consumers buying products based on recommendations by their idols. That trend has enabled livestreaming and video platforms like Kuaishou and Douyin, which cultivated a roster of hugely popular influencers, to participate in the e-commerce market through partnerships with the online sales platforms.

An undated photo of advertisements by Asia Innovation Group’s Uplive live streaming service in the Causeway Bay subway station. Photo: Weibo.

Founded in 2013, AIG’s flagship product Uplive claims more than 200 million registered users in over 200 markets. The platform hosted its first singing competition last year, featuring former American Idol judge Paula Abdul as the celebrity judge.

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