Pictoria

Pictoria (株式会社Pictoria / Pictoria Inc.) is a Tokyo-based company building what it calls an AI character economic sphere, combining entertainment with AI technology. It produces and operates AI-driven virtual characters — including AI VTubers and "AITubers" — that stream live, respond to audience comments, retain memory of interactions and can converse with one another as well as collaborate with human-operated VTubers. Its production arm operates under the AI CAST brand, which the company describes as the world's first AITuber agency.

Alongside its own character IP, Pictoria runs a solutions business that produces custom AI characters and AI content for external clients, applying operational know-how developed in the virtual talent space. Applications documented include interactive digital signage and guidance installations, such as the Picto STAND AI character guidance service at Tokachi-Obihiro Airport and the NARUMIYA Characters Vision installations at PARCO locations in Sendai and Hiroshima, as well as AI versions of existing corporate mascots, such as an AI adaptation of Suntory's official VTuber Santori Nomu. Regional and public-sector work includes an AI virtual tourism ambassador developed with schoolchildren in Kitagawa Village, Kochi Prefecture, and a cooperation agreement and new IP project with the Beppu City Public Enterprise Bureau.

A third research and development line focuses on frontier AI technologies for character expression and interactive experience, including large language models and synthetic voice; the company released its own voice synthesis service, talk shape.

Founding story

Pictoria Inc. was established on 22 December 2017 and is led by representative director and CEO Hayato Akedo.

Business model

Pictoria operates three lines of business: a production business, in which its own AI characters stream live daily, respond to viewer comments, remember interactions, converse with each other and collaborate with affiliated VTubers under the AI CAST banner; a solutions business, in which it builds AI characters and AI content to order for third-party clients using its virtual-operations know-how; and an AI character research and development function. A third-party profile characterizes the company as business-to-business with services and consulting, hardware plus subscription, revenue-share and marketplace-commission components.

Revenue is associated with commissioned AI character and AI content solutions work for corporate and public-sector clients, and with its own character production activities including merchandise and crowdfunded projects. A third-party profile lists services and consulting, hardware plus subscription, revenue share and marketplace commission as its customer/monetization profile.

Traction

The company's AI VTuber Tsumugi Nen reached 100,000 YouTube subscribers in November 2024. Crowdfunding campaigns raised 14 million yen for VTuber Towa Kiseki in 2019 and 5.3 million yen for Tsumugi Nen in 2021. Capital including capital reserve stands at 900 million yen. Deployments include AI character guidance at Tokachi-Obihiro Airport, signage installations at Sendai and Hiroshima PARCO, an AI version of Suntory's official VTuber, and agreements with the Beppu City Public Enterprise Bureau; the company was also selected for a METI content industry support program. A third-party tracker reports total funding of $5.04M and about 4.9K monthly website visits.

Latest developments

In 2026 Pictoria announced a fundraising totaling 330 million yen (April), the development of an AI version of Suntory's official VTuber Santori Nomu (May), a cooperation agreement and subsequent new IP project with the Beppu City Public Enterprise Bureau (June), and selection for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's FY2025 supplementary Content Industry Growth Investment Support Project IP360 for development platform construction support (June). Earlier in the year it began installing the Picto STAND AI character guidance service at Tokachi-Obihiro Airport, expanded the NARUMIYA Characters Vision installations to Sendai and Hiroshima PARCO with a music playback function, and debuted the AITuber Yumemi Mea.