PSafe, a Brazilian antivirus service provider, announced a $30 million Series C funding led by Qihoo, the largest online security service in China (via TechCrunch). Qihoo contributed $25 million in this round.
Li Tao, VP of Qihoo who is in charge of the company’s international business, told local newspaper YCWB that this company had about 30% of Brazilian Internet security market. Qihoo began going international with an English version of its flagship product which was launched in July this year. At TechNode/TechCrunch Shanghai event last month, Li mentioned that they saw opportunities in some less developed countries and regions. That includes Brazil, India, Russia and South Africa. Li also said that Qihoo also invested in some Israeli startups.
Qihoo has made it clear that their goal is to be the biggest security service provider worldwide. Offering all services to end-users for free, the company has successfully monetized its huge user base in China through online gaming, advertising and, more recently, search. The company is confident they have been well-positioned in mobile Internet market that the 360 Mobile Assistant is one of the biggest mobile app distributors in China.
PSafe has 20 million average monthly users and 30 million installs, according to the TechCrunch report. It has no direct Brazilian competitors but international names, including AVG, McAfee, Symantec and Avast. All of those outsiders must charge users. PSafe, currently with no revenue, plans to build an app, content and game store within its product, which sounds similar to Qihoo’s business model.
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