Entertainment technology company accelerates its mission:
"Creating a world where everyone enjoys manga."
TOKYO, May 6, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Orange, Inc., a manga localization technology
company, today announced JPY 2.92 billion (approximately
USD 19.5 million* ) fundraising in
pre-series A financing.
*Exchange rate: USD 1 = JPY 150
Special manga "Let's Go! Mr.Orange"
For full View: https://orange.inc/special
The financing round was led by Shogakukan, Globis Capital
Partners, ANRI, SBI Investment, JIC Venture Growth Investments,
Miyako Capital, Chiba Dojo Fund, Mizuho Capital, Mitsubishi UFJ
Capital, and GFR Fund.
The funds will be used to develop a localization product based
on deep learning models and to launch their digital manga store in
the summer of 2024.
About the Global Manga Industry
Orange is an entertainment technology startup from Japan dedicated to the manga industry. The
company leverages deep-learning technology to address significant
global market opportunities and historical development challenges
within the traditional production of the Japanese art form.
The global manga market has shown substantial growth, with a
compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10%, and is expected to reach
USD 42.2 billion market in 2030
(Manga Market 2023 report by Grand
View Research, Inc.). This traditional entertainment in
Japan has evolved into a global IP
industry, reflecting an expanding audience for manga and its
adjacent industries, such as anime.
However, only a fraction of works—according to Orange's
research, approximately 2% of manga released annually in Japan—has
been formally translated and made available in English, partly due
to the difficult and lengthy translation process and the limited
number of translators. Adding to this, the global piracy
market for manga was $ 5.5
billion in 2022 (Content Overseas
Distribution Association), which significantly harms the
industry and the rights of wonderful creators and artists.
Orange's Challenges
Orange is breaking through these issues by developing innovative
technologies that enhance the capacity of localization and enable
the worldwide simultaneous distribution of manga, working closely
with several publishers.
Orange has been developing a manga-dedicated localization
system since it was founded. It enables significant efficiencies in
the localization process of manga by integrating cutting-edge
computer vision and natural language processing technologies
developed by a top-class deep learning engineering team.
Their proprietary system uses their localization operation
process, enabling a capacity for Japanese-to-English localization
of up to 500 manga volumes per month. This is 5x more than the
current production capacity of the whole localization market,
according to Orange's estimates. Orange will also work on
localizing manga into other languages, ensuring that manga fans
across the world can enjoy manga in their native languages.
In the summer of 2024, the company will also launch a digital
manga store named "emaqi" in the US. "emaqi" will include
titles localized by Orange. It will feature recommendations
suggested by AI technology and manga influencers to offer new and
fun experiences to all manga fans in the US.
Goals and Vision
"Since we were founded in 2021, our vision has been to share
'all manga'—the manga that has moved us and that we dearly
love—in all languages across the globe," said Shoko Ugaki, Founder and Chief Executive
Officer. "Manga covers a wide and diverse variety of themes. Our
goal is to foster a global society where manga is an everyday joy
for everyone, from children to adults."
For additional information, please visit our website or contact
our press team.
Website: https://orange.inc
About Orange Inc.
Founded in 2021, Orange, Inc. has been focusing on its mission
of "creating a world where everyone enjoys manga" by developing
manga localization technology for mass localized
publishing. We wish to empower the life of each manga fan,
regardless of nationality, age, or gender, through delivering
diverse and unique manga. We strive to pass down the joy of manga
to future generations.
Contact:
Orange Inc.
info@orange0.jp
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SOURCE Orange Inc.