Indonesia's voice for millennials and Gen Z - built from a single blog into a 70-million-user media ecosystem.
IDN Media is Indonesia's largest media and entertainment technology company built specifically for the country's young majority. Every month, more than 70 million millennials and Gen Z pass through its ecosystem - reading news, watching cooking videos, following idols, tipping live streamers, and pulling up research on their own generation. The company describes its purpose plainly: to democratize information for a better Indonesia.
It did not start that way. In 2014, Winston Utomo was working at Google in Singapore and writing a side blog he called "Indonesian Times." The blog was a hobby - a place to publish stories about the country he came from. When it grew faster than a hobby should, he resigned, moved home to Surabaya, and started IDN Times with his younger brother William.
What followed was a decade of adding one product at a time. A news site became a network of verticals. Verticals became apps. Apps added live streaming. Live streaming led to entertainment and, eventually, to owning the idol group JKT48. Today the business runs across four connected pillars - digital media, live streaming and short drama, entertainment and live experiences, and the creator economy - and reaches a generation that legacy Indonesian media never quite spoke to.
That reach is the point. Indonesia has more than 270 million people and a median age under 30. IDN Media built for exactly that audience, on the device they actually use, in the tone they actually respond to.
Rather than depend on a single revenue stream, IDN Media spreads across four businesses that share the same young audience. If advertising softens, live streaming and events carry the newsroom.
IDN Times, Popbela, Popmama, FORTUNE Indonesia, Yummy, GGWP and more - news and lifestyle for specific youth audiences.
The IDN App turns attention into revenue through live streaming, virtual gifting and short-form entertainment.
Signature festivals and experiences plus owned entertainment IP such as the idol group JKT48.
ICE (Indonesia Creators Economy) handles creator marketing, representation, trading and brand development.
IDN Media's users are Indonesian millennials and Gen Z - students, young professionals, new parents, gamers, beauty and fashion followers, and fans of live entertainment. On the commercial side, its customers are the advertisers, brands and agencies that want to reach those same young Indonesians through campaigns, branded content, creator marketing and event sponsorships.
The insight underneath the whole company is unglamorous: young Indonesians deserved media made for them, in their language, on their phones. Most incumbents were built for an older, print-era reader. IDN built for the feed.
Fast, free, mobile-first news and knowledge for a generation that grew up online.
Live streaming and entertainment help fund journalism, easing the ad-only squeeze.
ICE gives creators representation, deals and tools to earn from their audiences.
The IDN Research Institute maps what young Indonesia actually thinks and buys.
News and entertainment digital media, the brand the whole company grew from.
Content super app with news, live streaming and community - a WAN-IFRA award winner.
Fashion, beauty and lifestyle media for young Indonesian women.
A parenting guide and community for expecting and new parents.
Cooking and food video media for the home-cook generation.
Licensed business and finance media covering markets and leaders.
Esports and gaming media for Indonesia's competitive players and fans.
Indonesia Creators Economy - agency and platform for creator monetization.
Independent fact-tank behind the annual Indonesia Millennial & Gen Z Report.
A visual read on the parts of IDN Media. Figures are approximate and drawn from public reporting and third-party estimates - treat them as directional, not audited.
Sources: company statements, Wikipedia, getLatka (est.)
Revenue is deliberately diversified: digital advertising and branded content across the media network; virtual gifting and monetization on live streaming and the IDN App; the creator economy through ICE; ticketed live events and festivals; paid research and insight reports; and film and entertainment production.
The unusual part is how the pieces support each other. As WAN-IFRA has reported, live streaming and entertainment revenue help cover the cost of news gathering - so the journalism does not have to survive on advertising alone.
Most Indonesian competitors - Kompas, Detik, Kumparan, Tirto, Narasi - are strong publishers. IDN Media competes as something broader: a consumer-tech platform where media is one of four businesses.
| Round | Year | Lead / Notable Investors |
|---|---|---|
| Seed | 2015 | East Ventures |
| Series A | 2016 | North Base Media, GDP Venture, East Ventures, MNM Creative |
| Series B | 2017 | East Ventures, Central Exchange (Hong Kong) |
| Series C | 2019 | EV Growth (East Ventures, Sinar Mas, Yahoo Japan) |
| Series D | 2022 | Dentsu Group, Mayapada Group, KMIF |
Amounts vary across public sources; rounds and investors above are drawn from Wikipedia, Crunchbase and Dentsu's investment announcement.
Winston and William Utomo launch IDN Times in Surabaya on June 8, growing from Winston's personal blog written while at Google.
East Ventures leads a seed round, validating the youth-media thesis.
Raises Series A and launches lifestyle vertical Popbela.com.
Backed by East Ventures and Central Exchange as the audience scales.
Closes Series C via EV Growth and builds out the IDN App, esports and the research institute.
Launches FORTUNE Indonesia and IDN Pictures, adding business news and film production.
Secures Series D funding with strategic investment from the Dentsu Group.
Founders Winston and William Utomo win EY Entrepreneur of the Year Indonesia.
IDN App wins a WAN-IFRA innovation award; Winston Utomo is named Most People-Focused CEO.
Founder & CEO. Former Google Singapore employee who left to build media for his generation. Named Most People-Focused CEO at the Human Resources Excellence Awards 2025 and, with his brother, EY Entrepreneur of the Year Indonesia 2024.
Co-Founder & COO. Winston's younger brother and operating partner, helping turn a single news site into a multi-platform ecosystem serving Indonesia's youth.
IDN Media's deepest expertise is knowing its audience. Years spent listening to Indonesian millennials and Gen Z produced not just content but a research practice - the IDN Research Institute - whose annual report is cited across the industry.
IDN Media is a useful lens on Indonesia's digital economy: a young country, a mobile-first audience, and a media company that refused to choose between journalism and entertainment. For advertisers it is a route to Gen Z; for creators, a path to income; for readers, a daily habit.
IDN Media is Indonesia's largest youth-focused media and entertainment technology company, reaching 70+ million millennials and Gen Z monthly across digital media, live streaming, entertainment and the creator economy.
It was founded in 2014 by brothers Winston Utomo (CEO) and William Utomo (COO), originating from Winston's blog written while he worked at Google Singapore.
Its brands include IDN Times, IDN App, Popbela.com, Popmama.com, Yummy, FORTUNE Indonesia, GGWP, IDN Pictures, ICE (Indonesia Creators Economy), IDN Research Institute and the idol group JKT48.
Through digital advertising and branded content, live streaming and virtual gifting, the creator economy, ticketed live events, research reports and film production - with entertainment revenue helping fund journalism.
It reaches more than 70 million monthly active users, employs roughly 1,700-1,800 people, and is headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Profile compiled from public sources. Figures marked "est." are third-party estimates and may not reflect official company data.