Digital Manga Subscription Service Azuki Receives $500,000 Investment from Y Combinator
SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Digital manga subscription service Azuki has accepted a $500K investment from the prestigious startup accelerator Y Combinator and joined their Winter 2022 batch. Since 2005 Y Combinator has helped over 3,000 startups — including AirBNB, Dropbox, and Reddit — grow their businesses through a network of world-class advisors and investors. Azuki is the first company in the manga industry to ever participate in YC.
“Last June we launched Azuki to make it easy for fans around the world to keep up with the latest manga chapters with one simple monthly subscription,” said Azuki CEO Abbas Jaffery. “YC's support and generous investment have been incredibly helpful as we work to expand our catalog, improve our apps, and make Azuki the best place to read manga.”
Azuki is available on the web at Azuki.co, as well as in the iOS App Store and Google Play Store. Fans can read new chapters every week from 22 ongoing series including EDENS ZERO and The Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting, with most chapters released on the same day as their Japanese editions. Azuki also features a back catalog of over 200 series, including hits like Attack on Titan and acclaimed indie manga like The Blood Red Boy.
The first few chapters of most series are available for free with ads, and for just $4.99 per month users can sign up for a Premium account and read the entire catalog ad-free. A 30-day free trial and a discounted annual plan are also available. All titles are available worldwide (except Japan) in English. Readers can stay up to date on the latest announcements by following Azuki at twitter.com/ReadAzuki, facebook.com/ReadAzuki, and instagram.com/readazuki.
About Azuki and KiraKira Media Inc.
Azuki is created by KiraKira Media Inc., a proudly employee-owned company dedicated to improving access to legally licensed manga, led by a small team of passionate manga fans and tech experts in San Francisco, CA.
About Y Combinator
Y Combinator is a startup fund based in Mountain View, CA. In 2005, Y Combinator developed a new model of startup funding. Twice a year they invest a small amount of money in a large number of startups. The startups move to Silicon Valley for 3 months, and the YC partners work closely with each company to get them into the best possible shape and refine their pitch to investors. Each batch culminates in Demo Day, when the startups present their companies to a carefully selected audience of investors. Y Combinator has invested in over 3,000 companies including Airbnb, Dropbox, Stripe, Reddit, Instacart, Docker and Gusto. The combined valuation of YC companies is over $600B.
“Last June we launched Azuki to make it easy for fans around the world to keep up with the latest manga chapters with one simple monthly subscription,” said Azuki CEO Abbas Jaffery. “YC's support and generous investment have been incredibly helpful as we work to expand our catalog, improve our apps, and make Azuki the best place to read manga.”
Azuki is available on the web at Azuki.co, as well as in the iOS App Store and Google Play Store. Fans can read new chapters every week from 22 ongoing series including EDENS ZERO and The Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting, with most chapters released on the same day as their Japanese editions. Azuki also features a back catalog of over 200 series, including hits like Attack on Titan and acclaimed indie manga like The Blood Red Boy.
The first few chapters of most series are available for free with ads, and for just $4.99 per month users can sign up for a Premium account and read the entire catalog ad-free. A 30-day free trial and a discounted annual plan are also available. All titles are available worldwide (except Japan) in English. Readers can stay up to date on the latest announcements by following Azuki at twitter.com/ReadAzuki, facebook.com/ReadAzuki, and instagram.com/readazuki.
About Azuki and KiraKira Media Inc.
Azuki is created by KiraKira Media Inc., a proudly employee-owned company dedicated to improving access to legally licensed manga, led by a small team of passionate manga fans and tech experts in San Francisco, CA.
About Y Combinator
Y Combinator is a startup fund based in Mountain View, CA. In 2005, Y Combinator developed a new model of startup funding. Twice a year they invest a small amount of money in a large number of startups. The startups move to Silicon Valley for 3 months, and the YC partners work closely with each company to get them into the best possible shape and refine their pitch to investors. Each batch culminates in Demo Day, when the startups present their companies to a carefully selected audience of investors. Y Combinator has invested in over 3,000 companies including Airbnb, Dropbox, Stripe, Reddit, Instacart, Docker and Gusto. The combined valuation of YC companies is over $600B.
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