Cannes – Online entertainment platform Vuze will target Japan and Korea as the first markets in Asia as it expands from the beachheads it has established in the US and Western Europe. Launched just eight months ago, Vuze claims an installed base of 10 million viewers and that it’s adding 500,000 per week. The Palo Alta, California-based start-up says it has sourced content from 90 content partners including A&E, BBC, The History Channel, National Geographic, PBS, Showtime and Starz Media. In Cannes to promote the service and to source more content, Gilles BianRosa, CEO of Azureus, the company behind Vuze, tells Television Asia that he will begin expansion in Asia in Japan and Korea, both markets with high bandwith capacity. He says he will source Asian content and already has a deal with Japanese anime supplier Geneon. BianRosa says he raised $US13.5 million to launch Vuze, mostly from venture capitalists including BV Capital and Redpoint Ventures. Asked about the points of difference between his firm and rivals such as Joost and Babelgum, he cited the size of Vuze’s community and its superior DVD-like quality. He says it will progress to High-Def over time.