The round was led by German media company Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, who is dedicated to the progress of science, education, and the culture of reading through companies like Macmillan Publishers and Springer Nature, while also investing in technology businesses.
In addition to Holtzbrinck, the round included venture funds GMJP, T-Accelerate, and Google. Graphic India, the country’s comic and animation creator, also participated in the round.
Toonsutra’s webtoon comic app has established itself as the top 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 expertise in building Indian startups and creating 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 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 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 markets. Their growth and leadership position in India’s mobile comic space demonstrates the team’s understanding of both content and technology. At Holtzbrinck, we recognize the potential of the webtoon format and believe Toonsutra is uniquely positioned to capitalize on India’s youth audience. We look forward to supporting Vishal, Sharad, and the team as they continue to build India’s digital comics platform.”Toonsutra’s mission is to bring together a community of fandom and pop-culture, catering to India’s 700 million+ mobile youth market.
The webtoon comics app caters to Indian audiences with Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu language content offerings. The company has partnered with publishers to bring over 3100+ titles and 500,000+ episodes, spanning global hits and domestic originals.
“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.
The webtoon market is projected to reach $130 billion by some estimates, making it one of the categories for media and content.
Previous investors in Toonsutra include Sony Innovation Fund, Maiora Capital, and 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.
