The Japan Times - Toonsutra, India’s #1 Webtoon App, Closes $3.2 Million Seed Financing, Led by Holtzbrinck Publishing Group

MUMBAI, IN / ACCESS Newswire / February 12, 2025 / Toonsutra, India's #1 comic app, announced today that the Company has closed a new Seed Round of US$3.2 million in financing from a leading group of investors. The round was led by German media leader Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, who is dedicated to the progress of science, education, and the culture of reading through renowned companies like Macmillan Publishers and Springer Nature, while also investing in new high-growth, disruptive technology businesses. In addition to Holtzbrinck the round included venture funds GMJP, T-Accelerate and Google. Graphic India, the country's leading original Indian comic and animation creator, also participated in the new round.

Toonsutra's homegrown webtoon comic app has firmly established itself as the #1 comic app in India in both the Apple and Android stores for over 10 months with over 2 million downloads to date. The Company is founded by Sharad Devarajan and Vishal Anand, who bring decades of expertise in in building successful Indian startups and creating groundbreaking entertainment experiences across comics, animation, and digital media platforms.

"I have long admired Holtzbrinck's and Google's entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to creators across various media formats. We are honored to have them and this amazing group of investors as we continue to build on our mission to shape India's webtoon and comic fandom,"commented Toonsutra Co-Founder & CEO, Vishal Anand. "At Toonsutra we are creating an ecosystem where the biggest global creators and publishers can thrive by reaching entirely new regional language audiences, and Indian readers can discover new worlds with every scroll. Our mission goes beyond entertainment - we're fostering a new era of creativity, community and creative expression in India."

Filmon Zerai, COO of Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, added, "Toonsutra represents an exciting confluence of digital innovation and cultural resonance in one of the world's most dynamic markets. Their impressive growth and leadership position in India's mobile comic space demonstrates the team's deep understanding of both content and technology. At Holtzbrinck, we recognize the tremendous potential of the webtoon format and believe Toonsutra is uniquely positioned to capitalize on India's massive youth audience. We look forward to supporting Vishal, Sharad, and the team as they continue to build India's premier digital comics platform."

Toonsutra's mission is to bring together a community of passionate fandom and pop-culture, catering to the largest youth market in the world - India's 700 million+ mobile youth market. It is the only premium webtoon comics app in the region dedicated to catering to Indian audiences with Hindi, Tamil and Telegu language content offerings. The Company has partnered with global publishers to bring over 3100+ titles and 500,000+ episodes, spanning award winning, global hits and domestic originals and favorites - the largest offering of premium, high-quality, webtoon comic content ever assembled for this market, in easy-to-read vertical scroll format optimized for mobile.

"With over two million downloads and growing, Toonsutra has shown that Indian audiences are ready to embrace a new era of digital fandom and storytelling. As a lifelong comic book fan and creator, I'm thrilled to bring the best comics and webtoons from around the world into India's local languages for the very first time. This is an incredible opportunity to introduce millions across the country to the transformative power of this medium while inspiring a new generation of Indian comic and webtoon creators to share their stories and redefine global pop culture." commented Toonsutra Co-Founder & Chairman, Sharad Devarajan.

As the excitement for the global webtoon market continues to grow with the recent US$2.7 Billion IPO by Naver's Webtoon Entertainment, the medium and fandom around these new storytelling comic platforms is finding new audiences and territories. The global webtoon market is projected to reach a staggering US$130 Billion by some recent estimates, making it one of the highest growing new categories for media and content.

"T-Accelerate Capital is excited to invest in Toonsutra, India's leading webtoon platform, as it transforms digital comics for a mobile-first audience. Founded by Vishal Anand and Sharad Devarajan, Toonsutra blends technology with engaging storytelling, making high-quality comics more accessible across India. This investment reflects T-Accelerate Capital's commitment to backing visionary founders who are reshaping entertainment at the intersection of culture and technology" added, Quintus Lai, Managing Director at T-Accelerate Capital

Previous investors in Toonsutra include, Sony Innovation Fund, Maiora Capital, and leading startup veterans, Gen Fukunaga (Founder, Funimation); Kun Gao (Co-Founder, Crunchyroll); Jeremy Liew (partner, Lightspeed); Kevin Lin (Co-Founder, Twitch); Patrick Lee (Co-Founder, Rotten Tomatoes); Keisuke Honda(KSK Angel Fund); Holly Lui (Co-Founder, Kabam); Benjamin Grubbs (Co-Founder, CreatorPlus); Steve Chung (fmr. CEO of Americas, CJENM); and others.

SOURCE: Toonsutra, Inc.

Related Images

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

K.Yoshida--JT