Kairous Capital Bets on Mantayay to Build Southeast Asia’s Next Creator-Commerce Powerhouse

Malaysia’s Mantayay raises US$5m from Kairous Capital to scale creators, AI content tools and cross-border commerce — but monetisation, creator churn and regional ops will test the thesis.

Mantayay Global Holdings Pte Ltd, a Malaysia-born creator-economy and digital-media company registered in Singapore, has closed US$5 million in its first institutional round. The Series A was led by Kairous Capital via its Kairous Asia Venture Fund II (SEA) and will bankroll regional expansion, deepen the company’s creator network and accelerate investment in AI-enabled content and commerce infrastructure across Southeast Asia.

What Mantayay does — scale, IP and commerce

Since its inception, Mantayay has developed one of the region’s most active content ecosystems. The company oversees a network of more than 4,000 TikTok creators, producing over 1,000 short-form videos every month and drawing around 100 million views across Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Among its standout projects is the original short-form drama series Terpaling Menantu, which has surpassed 300 million total views, showcasing Mantayay’s strength in crafting locally resonant stories that engage audiences and seamlessly integrate brand collaborations.

The business model blends three elements — content, creators and commerce (3Cs) — offering brands campaign strategy, production, creator marketing and live commerce. The new funding is explicitly targeted at expanding this stack and building offices in China, Japan and South Korea to support NE Asian partners entering Southeast Asia.

Why investors are backing Mantayay — the bullish case

Kairous and other backers point to several structural tailwinds:

• Short-form video and creator-led IP are becoming mainstream entertainment formats across Southeast Asia.
• Social commerce and live selling are growing monetisation channels for creators and brands.
• Local language content and culturally relevant storytelling are harder for global platforms to replicate at scale.

Kairous’ managing partner, Joseph Lee Moh Hon, emphasised Mantayay’s combination of creative capability and “sound business fundamentals.” For investors, a large creator network plus owned IP can create recurring revenue streams via brand deals, e-commerce take rates and licensing.

The practical challenges — what could slow growth

The bullish story has practical limits. Here are the main risks Mantayay will need to manage:

• Monetisation at scale: High view counts don’t directly equal profit. Conversion into repeatable revenue (direct commerce, subscriptions, licensing) requires reliable funnel metrics and margin control.
• Creator retention and quality: Managing 4,000 creators and 1,000 videos monthly needs strong tooling and incentives; churn or falling content quality reduce value for brands.
• Regional expansion costs: Opening offices in China, Japan and Korea involves local hiring, legal and content adaptation — expensive and operationally complex.
• Competition and platform risk: Global platforms and local studios compete for creators and ad budgets; platform algorithm changes can sharply affect reach and CPMs.
• Compliance and content moderation: Cross-border content raises moderation, IP and regulatory questions that can slow rollouts.

Execution across these fronts will determine whether Mantayay can convert scale into sustainable margins.

Where Mantayay should focus next (practical moves)

To make the most of the US$5m, the company should prioritise a few pragmatic steps:

1. Monetisation productisation: Build repeatable commerce products (shoppable clips, subscription models, brand-safe inventory) with clear KPIs for merchants.
2. Creator tooling: Invest in creator dashboards, analytics and revenue-sharing systems to reduce churn and raise output quality.
3. Local partnerships: Use local distribution or media partners in China, Japan and Korea to reduce market-entry costs and navigate regulation.
4. Independent verification: Publish audited audience and performance metrics for advertisers to reduce sales friction.

These moves would tighten the path from views to revenue and make future fundraises or exits more likely.

Why this matters for the region

Southeast Asia’s creator economy is expanding fast. Industry forecasts point to a rising market opportunity driven by social commerce and mobile adoption. Mantayay’s model — combining owned short-form IP, creator networks and commerce integrations — is one practical blueprint for turning attention into transactions in emerging markets where local language content dominates.

If Mantayay can prove robust unit economics and repeatable merchant outcomes, it will help set a template for other regional creator-tech businesses and attract more strategic brand partnerships across ASEAN and Northeast Asia.

A promising base, a hard path to scale

Mantayay has the core ingredients investors like: large audience reach, owned IP and an operations muscle for short-form production. The US$5m from Kairous gives it runway to expand regionally and invest in AI tooling and commerce flows. But the next stage is about operational discipline — turning attention into reliable revenue, retaining creator talent, and managing the cost and complexity of new markets. For AsiaTechDaily readers, Mantayay is a company to watch: it embodies both the creative potential and the commercial questions at the heart of the nascent Southeast Asian creator economy.

Quick takeaways

• Round: US$5 million Series A led by Kairous Capital (Kairous Asia Venture Fund II SEA).
• Scale: >4,000 TikTok creators; 1,000+ short videos/month; 100M monthly views.
• Flagship IP: Terpaling Menantu — 300M+ cumulative views.
• Use of funds: Regional expansion, creator network growth, AI content & commerce infrastructure; offices planned for China, Japan, South Korea.
• Key risks: Monetisation, creator churn, regional ops costs, platform dependence, regulatory complexity.
• Watch: evidence of repeatable revenue per creator, audited performance metrics, and early traction in Northeast Asian offices.