Google Back Toonsutra to develop its webtoon platform in India

It is not a new one that India is a huge market for entertainment companies, but what is often not mentioned is that its inhabitants like to see content in their own language. According to A recent survey By non-profit internet Internet Internet and Mobile Association of India, more than 870 million Indians looked for videos, music and other content in Indian languages ​​in 2024, and among these, 57% favorite content in local languages.

Toonsutra, a platform for webtoons in India, is trying to take advantage of the increase in the use of the Internet in the country and this preference for localized content. The company essentially grants various comics from different corners of the world, organizes them in episodes and translated them into Indian languages. It currently offers comics in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu via its Android and iOS applications.

“We have examined the problem of India lacking access to the best webtoon titles in colhable and different languages ​​and think that there is a great opportunity here. We want to develop a comic strip culture in India and create fandoms around him, ”said CEO and CEO, co-founder, Vishal Anand.

Toonsutra Monetise via integrated purchases: some episodes of each title are free, and users must unlock the rest by spending “parts” they can either buy, or win by reading more comics. The company also experiences subscription plans and purchases by episodes.

Anand said the platform has more than half a million active users per month and increases regularly. It is a decent traction for a startup that has existed for less than two years, and investors seem to love the opportunity to enter this relatively un served market: Toonsutra has raised $ 5.9 million to date on Several rounds of Sony Innovation Fund, HoltzbrinCck Ventures, Google and Maiora Capital, as well as the founder of Funimation Gen Fukunaga, the co-founder of Crunchyroll Kun Gao, Lightpeed Partner Jeremy Liew, the co-founder of Twitch Kevin Lin and the co-founder of Rotten Tomatoes Patrick Lee.

Although this is a big name to have on your cap table, Google is not new in this space. The technology giant supported several startups in India targeting regional content, in particular Sharechat social network,, Lock the eyes of the applicationVerse innovation (operates short Josh video platform and news application daily), And FM Hord Audio Platform.

Filmon Zerai, co-PDG of Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, who directs nature, said that the company had decided to invest in Toonsutra to diversify the regional and sound format strategy. “An investment in Toonsutra gives us visibility on the Indian market, which is a dynamic and growing content market. In addition, the startup is an innovative company with new monetization techniques to succeed in the market, ”Zerai told Techcrunch.

Anand, the former CPO of DailyHunt, founded Toonsutra in 2023 with Sharad Devarajan, CEO of the Animation Company Graphic India and the digital entertainment company Liquid Comics.

Toonsutra has a rival in Matrix Partners Dashtoons supported by India, which use a sequence of AI creation to generate content; PocketFM, which ventures into the creation of webtoons; and Pratilipi supported by Krafton, who has A platform for comics in Indian languages.

But Anand pointed out that Toonsutra does not try to create a platform for writers to adapt their stories to the comics. Instead, the company wishes to rely on conservation and use AI to adapt titles to different languages. “Our intention is to be a Netflix rather than YouTube. Because if people associate you with three or four poor titles, it is difficult to build a brand. We are trying to obtain exclusive titles on our platform with high quality and high confidence quality, “said Anand.

The partnership of the company with Google also helps to access the models of the research giant with which it wishes to translate and adapt comics to Indian languages, he added.

Analysts predict anime And webtoons will see healthy growth in India. For example, crunchyroll of the animated streaming service has invested massively in India – its Subscription plans here are suitable for Indian price levelsand its catalog even has Anime doubled in certain local languages.