Kaidro
1 known investors
Kaidro is a science-fantasy entertainment IP spanning manga, Webtoon comics, animation and a multiplayer game.
Also known as Kaidro Chronicle Β· Kaidro: The Awakening
Investors Β· 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Kaidro is an original science-fantasy franchise created by Peggy Chung and Robert Simons, co-founders of the Los Angeles design studio Gadget-Bot. The setting depicts a world in which the technocratic elite of floating Upper Cities are at war with the spiritually adept K'ailantians of the wasteland below, with nomadic mechanic-trader "Contractors" caught between them. The narrative follows Ava, an orphaned young Contractor who discovers she is a Kaidro, able to conjure energy from the Astral Realm into the physical world.
The property spans multiple media. It began as self-published print manga issues funded on Kickstarter, moved to a Webtoon series titled "Kaidro: The Awakening" that launched as webcomics in late 2020, and is being extended into a hardcover manga line published and distributed by Storyteller and Macmillan. Book one, "Kaidro: The Relic," is offered as an 8.5" x 11" matte hardcover with embossed gold foil and raised spot UV, as the first of a planned six-book series; book two, "The Shattered Spirit," is listed for 2027, with four further volumes announced or in development. Adjacent products include a Kaidro animation, whose first official trailer was revealed in early 2024, audiobooks, and "Kaidro: Clan Battles," an online arena shooter with RPG and battle-royale elements whose story branches off from the comic rather than retelling Ava's arc.
Project documentation also describes a Web3 layer around the universe, including an NFT Genesis Collection, a KDR token with published tokenomics, a play-to-earn/play-to-advance model, and kaidro.com as a hub where users access the comics, game account attachment, audiobooks, animations and a Profile Journal that tracks owned journals, quest badges and NFT collections.
Founding story
Peggy Chung and Robert Simons built Gadget-Bot as a studio producing art and design work on outside IPs including Westworld, Call of Duty, Apex Legends and Alita: Battle Angel. They describe that work as "phase 1" of their plan and the creation of their own original stories and worlds as "phase 2." After developing several concepts as short films, they committed to one world and turned it into an online comic, which they say was the fastest way to convey a from-scratch setting to an audience after finding illustrations and pitch decks insufficient.
Business model
The franchise monetizes an owned IP across formats: pre-ordered premium print books published and distributed through Storyteller and Macmillan, a Webtoon series, audiobooks, animation, a multiplayer game, and blockchain-based assets including an NFT Genesis Collection and the KDR token.
Sales of physical hardcover manga (including limited collector's editions), earlier crowdfunded print issues via Kickstarter, and digital/Web3 products such as NFT collections tied to the game and universe.
Traction
Over 1.8 million followers across social media platforms and more than 13,000 community TikTok videos; a Webtoon series that reached a global audience and remained ongoing as of March 2024; Kickstarter-funded original print issues; and a hardcover edition published and distributed by Storyteller and Macmillan with 100 limited Golden Relic Collector's Editions offered to early pre-orders.
Latest developments
"Kaidro: The Relic" is available for pre-order as the first of a six-book hardcover manga series with Storyteller and Macmillan, with a pre-order deadline of November 10 for a chance at one of 100 Golden Relic Collector's Editions; book two, "The Shattered Spirit," is slated for 2027. Earlier, the team revealed the first trailer for a Kaidro animation and prepared the unveiling of "Kaidro: Clan Battles."
βΈFull profile β market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Positioned as an original, creator-owned IP in an entertainment market dominated by sequels, remakes and reboots, built by a studio with prior credits on major game and film properties.
A single art style carried consistently across comics, animation and game; explicitly human-made rather than AI-generated artwork; and a multimedia structure in which the game tells a separate story set in the same world rather than adapting the comic's protagonist.
Technology
The universe is produced through character art, environment illustration, 3D asset work and visual development by human artists; the company states the work was created without AI. The Web3 component includes NFT collections and a KDR token, with Polygon among listed backers.
Go-to-market
Audience is built directly through social media, with more than 1.8 million followers across platforms and over 13,000 community-uploaded TikTok videos, alongside creator accounts posting sketches and studio updates. Distribution runs through Webtoon for serialized comics, Kickstarter for early print issues, and Storyteller/Macmillan for trade hardcover editions, with kaidro.com acting as the central hub linking comics, game accounts, audiobooks and animation.
Readers of manga and webcomics, animation viewers, multiplayer online shooter players, and collectors of limited-edition print and NFT items.
Geography
Built by Gadget-Bot, a Los Angeles-based design studio; distribution is global via Webtoon and the Storyteller/Macmillan publishing partnership.
History
Kaidro began as original print manga issues distributed via Kickstarter, then expanded into webcomics starting in late 2020 under the title "Kaidro: The Awakening," published on Webtoon. In May 2022 the project raised an undisclosed seed round. A whitepaper published on GitBook set out the Kaidro universe, production model, NFTs, tokenomics, roadmap and investor list. In February 2024 the team revealed the first official trailer for a Kaidro animation, and in March 2024 the founders publicly detailed "Kaidro: Clan Battles." The franchise subsequently moved into trade publishing with "Kaidro: The Relic," a hardcover manga published and distributed by Storyteller and Macmillan as the first of six planned books.
Risks & controversies
Portions of the project depend on crypto-linked elements β an NFT Genesis Collection, KDR token and play-to-earn mechanics β whose documentation on GitBook was last updated one to two years before the current print-focused positioning.
Compiled by commissioned research from 7 cited public sources β announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed β not independently audited.
Timeline Β· 5
launches, deals, and filingsThe premium 8.5" x 11" hardcover edition is published and distributed by Storyteller and Macmillan as book one of a planned six-book series, with pre-orders before November 10 eligible for one of 100 Golden Relic Collector's Editions.
Co-founders Peggy Chung and Robert Simons described Kaidro: Clan Battles, an online arena shooter with RPG and battle royale elements set in the Kaidro universe, ahead of its full unveiling.
Gadget-Bot revealed the first official trailer for the upcoming Kaidro animation the month before a March 2024 interview.
Kaidro raised an undisclosed amount in a seed funding round from WWVentures, reported in a weekly roundup of blockchain startup fundraises for 16-22 May 2022.
The series started as webcomics in late 2020 and grew in popularity on Webtoon; it remained ongoing as of March 2024.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
βΈResearch sources Β· 7
primary sources listed
- Kaidrokaidro.com Β· web
7 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Kaidro do?
- Kaidro is a science-fantasy entertainment IP spanning manga, Webtoon comics, animation and a multiplayer game.
- Who are Kaidro's investors?
- Kaidro's investors include WWVentures.