Creator Economy Startups

Contents Technologies is a technology-driven music company that owns and operates the full music IP value chain, including distribution, publishing, label services, production, and artist management. It holds stakes in a portfolio of labels and makes strategic investments across music technology, data technology, creator finance, VFX, and AI.

3 investors

A Japanese regional development company that builds NFT platforms and digital systems for local governments and municipalities to support local economies. The company combines blockchain technology with traditional funding mechanisms like hometown tax donations and creates DAOs to strengthen rural communities and counter Tokyo-centric economic concentration.

3 investors

Kreation is a Web3 publisher platform for Japanese creators to go global, offering NFT-based commerce, metaverse fashion collectibles, and free-to-play gaming experiences.

3 investors

Candee is a creative production agency and wholly owned subsidiary of Shogakukan that handles video production, live streaming, event production, and fan-business services, offering end-to-end planning, filming, and editing. It also develops new advertising products and ventures, including a crowdsourcing platform connecting manga artists with assistants.

3 investors

G-ANT Inc. provides custom block figurine design and manufacturing services that convert 2D illustrations into 3D buildable block models using voxel technology. The company serves content creators and fans in the creative economy who want to design and assemble personalized character figures.

3 investors

Natee is a Japanese company operating an SNS (social media) marketing business, working with creators to run creator-driven social media marketing campaigns, plus related ventures such as a creator agency, VTuber/avatar live-streaming, affiliate services, and generative AI development. It serves brands and advertising agencies and is based in Tokyo, Japan.

3 investors

HERALBONY is a Japanese art and lifestyle brand that licenses and commercializes artwork created by artists with disabilities (including intellectual disabilities and autism), turning their work into products under an "artist first" model that fairly compensates the artists and welfare facilities. The company aims to reframe disability as distinctive individuality and expand its work internationally.

3 investors

Utoniq operates "UDom," a fandom platform that lets artists, athletes, and entertainment brands run paid fan communities and issue "digital-real" trading cards and member-only content and online lotteries. It serves creators and rights holders such as musicians, VTubers, and theme parks in the Japanese entertainment and fan-engagement market.

3 investors

Tapas is a digital platform for reading and publishing webcomics and web novels across genres such as fantasy, romance, and action. It serves readers and creators seeking serialized comics and stories.

2 investors

Coconala operates a skills marketplace that matches individuals offering services with those seeking them, covering categories from design and writing to legal consultation and technology services. The platform serves both professional and amateur service providers and clients, enabling people to work around geographic and time constraints.

2 investors

Untitled is a cloud storage and collaboration platform for musicians to upload, organize, edit, and share work-in-progress music across devices. The service targets music creators and producers who need a secure, offline-capable workspace for their audio projects.

2 investors

6AM City designs, launches, manages, and monetizes newsletters for local and niche audiences, combining editorial strategy with scalable systems. It operates as a newsletter media and services business serving communities and brand partners.

2 investors

8x operates a creator network for brands, having creators post marketing content from their own personal accounts in their own voice rather than from branded pages. It positions this authentic, creator-led posting as its core model for driving audience engagement and algorithmic reach.

2 investors

A Parent Media Company (APMC) provides streaming and monetization solutions for brands and content creators. The company operates Kidoodle.TV, a safe streaming service designed for children and families.

2 investors

ABOUT YOU is an online fashion discovery platform serving digital natives who seek personalized and accessible fashion options. The company engages creators through social media collaborations, particularly on TikTok where it has built a substantial following.

2 investors

about.me provides a personal branding platform where individuals can create a customizable profile page to showcase their work, contact information, and media.

2 investors

aBreak Music is a free music and artist discovery platform for independent artists. It connects emerging talent with industry expertise from experienced music executives.

2 investors

Aesthetic offers an AI tool that learns a user's personal design style and generates matching high-quality visuals, serving designers and other creatives.

2 investors

Aiode builds AI models that capture the styles of real musicians so artists can guide and enhance their own music creations. The platform serves musicians, producers, and composers, offering ethically trained, style-based AI music tools and a way for artists to earn from their virtual counterparts.

2 investors

AKOOL develops AI-driven video creation solutions that enable businesses to produce personalized, high-quality visual content for marketing purposes. The platform aims to simplify video production by automating complex creative processes.

2 investors

A podcast that interviews entrepreneurs and investors about fundraising, entrepreneurship, and accessing capital, with a focus on Black and underserved entrepreneurs.

2 investors

Amplium provides encoding and distribution software for immersive video content on Apple Vision Pro, serving studios and independent creators. The platform offers professional-grade software encoding on Mac, DRM-protected streaming links, and a dedicated immersive video player on Vision Pro with support for 16K resolution at 90FPS and HDR.

2 investors

Amuse offers self-service music distribution that lets independent artists release music to major streaming services and social networks, keep their royalties, and track performance via iOS, Android, or web. It also provides artist and label services, including release strategy, catalog optimization, and revenue management, for a roster of independent acts.

2 investors

Anibera is an animation studio that produces cartoons, animated movies, and commercials, and provides 2D/3D animation services to creators and producers of animated films, TV/web series, and commercials. It also licenses its own award-winning series and movies, and is known for producing Turkey's first 3D animated movie.

2 investors