Japanese manga localization tech company Orange raised JPY 2.2bn (USD 19.5m) in what they called a “pre-Series A” financing, the company announced in a May 6, 2024 press release.

Manga publisher Shogakukan led the financing round. Other participants included the Japanese government’s Japan Industrial Innovation Investment Corporation, Globis Capital Partners, ANRI, SBI Investment, JIC Venture Growth Investments, Miyako Capital, Chiba Dojo Fund, Mizuho Capital, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, and GFR Fund.

Orange, founded in 2021, uses computer vision and NLP, including AI translation, to translate manga titles in a fraction of the time required by traditional methods.

The company claims that it can translate, from Japanese to English, up to 500 manga titles per month — a figure Orange pegs at about five times the current industry rate. 

The company’s ultimate goal: translate 50,000 manga titles in the next five years. Orange will use some of the funds raised in this round to launch a digital manga store called emaqi in summer 2024. The store will reportedly feature recommendations from manga influencers — as well as AI-generated suggestions.

Source: https://slator.com/

Full article: https://slator.com/japanese-manga-translation-startup-orange-raises-usd-19-5m/