Interest
Kizuna Ai Management Company Activ8 Reports 675 Million Yen Deficit in August 2019
posted on by Kim Morrissy
Activ8, the company which manages Kizuna Ai and other virtual YouTuber talent, reported a total deficit of 675 million yen (approximately US$6.1 million) in its third annual quarter of 2019. Its statement of retained earnings was negative 720 million yen (approximately US$6.6 million).
Activ8 was founded in 2016 by Takeshi Ōsaka. The company manages the upd8 project, which consists of approximately 50 virtual talents, including Kizuna Ai. In August 2018, Activ8 raised approximately 600 million yen (approximately US$5.5 million) in third-party shares from the venture capital investor Makers Fund and Tokyo-based gaming company Gumi.
The Kizuna Ai YouTube channel "A.I.Channel" first launched in 2016. Since then, she has become the world's most popular Virtual YouTuber and is on Newsweek Japan's list of "globally respected Japanese people."
