OnMic raises fresh funds to expedite development of audio-streaming platform

OnMic is Vietnam's very first audio-focused streaming platform

Since its official launch in June 2021, within just six months, the application has achieved over 11 million live minutes with more than 20,000 shows. While it may remind users of Clubhouse, OnMic is building a unique community bonding experience that does not rely on celebrities.

Rather, it is through the very arts of sharing authentically the ups and downs of life, love, careers, and struggles especially throughout the pandemic among Gen-Z in Vietnam, that OnMic has built a new category of its own in the hearts and minds of Vietnamese users.

OnMic provides a platform for Vietnamese youth to connect with one another through discussions about shared interests such as spirituality, travelling, career tips, investment advice, and dating. Growth has been driven 100 per cent organically through micro-key opinion leaders (KOLs) and their networks. Users can easily engage an unlimited number of listeners by opening virtual chat rooms in only a few clicks. On OnMic, the audience can interact directly with speakers by simply “raising their hand” to come on stage.

OnMic focuses 100 per cent on audio content: it features no visuals and only minimal text, allowing content creators and consumers alike to focus entirely on the spoken word. It is the very replication of Vietnam’s hustling coffee-chat scene, where young people are engaged in connections and conversations, except that they are now doing that online but still exchanging real thoughts, emotions, and even sending OnMic virtual gifts to appreciate content creators and speakers.

Nguyen Bao Khanh, OnMic CEO, said, "We simply want to make OnMic a safe, warm, fun, exciting, and intimate space for people to express themselves and talk about anything under the sun. The desire for genuine and authentic conversations is stronger than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic, and OnMic has contributed to make life more breathable, sociable, and less lonely. At the same time, OnMic has seen a new generation of audio-based content creators since its launch, so it initiated creator-first programmes to help them flourish simply on the merit and quality of their ideas – without any need for visuals or content editing skills. In the future, OnMic will continue to develop new features and optimise the experience for users and content creators alike.”

According to Tu Ngo, general partner of Touchstone Partners, commented, “We invest in OnMic as we believe in the power of a platform that serves to build trusted authentic communities especially around tens of millions of young digital natives of Vietnam, whose values and interests are quickly changing. OnMic has a great opportunity to provide both a diversity of communities and the depth of authentic conversations to help Vietnamese youth find their own identities, build their own values and most importantly, find where they belong to in this fast-changing world”.