Paris-based Animaj, a next-generation kids’ media company, announced the close of an $85M (approximately €73.8M) funding round.
The round was led by HarbourView Equity Partners (USA) and Bpifrance Large Venture (France), with participation from JP Morgan, Bootstrap Europe, Left Lane Capital, XAnge, Daphni, and Marquee Ventures.
Fund utilisation
The company will use the new funding to scale its digital-first, multi-platform ecosystem, spanning YouTube, Roblox, TikTok, Spotify, and FAST channels, and turn original IP into global franchises from day one.
On the AI side, the company is already working on the next iteration of its model to enable more interactive and personalised content.
Animaj will also accelerate strategic IP acquisitions, following the purchase of the iconic Hispanic brand Pocoyo, as Animaj builds a diversified portfolio spanning preschool to tweens, and digital-native to cross-generational brands.
“There’s an extraordinary pool of kids’ IP developed by independent studios and creators that hasn’t reached its full potential. With a modern, platform-native approach, we want to amplify these brands globally without compromising their creative DNA,” says Gregory Dray, co-founder & Chief Business Officer.
Animaj: Next-generation media company
Co-founded in 2022 by serial entrepreneur Sixte de Vauplane and former Google/YouTube executive Grégory Dray, Animaj is a next-generation media company that brings high-quality and inspiring brands to kids and families worldwide.
The company is built on a core belief: the next generation of kids’ franchises will originate from the platforms where today’s kids are and spend most of their time—YouTube, TikTok, Spotify, Netflix, or Roblox.
But to thrive on these, content must be developed in the right format, at the right pace, with stories that resonate.
Consequently, Animaj has developed a proprietary GenAI animation pipeline, which significantly reduces production time and costs while preserving creative quality.
The system combines AI-driven sketch-to-pose prediction with a motion-in-betweening layer that ensures smooth, expressive animation while maintaining each character’s distinct style and tone.
Since its founding in 2022, the company has grown rapidly, becoming the 5th largest digital kids’ player worldwide on YouTube (Tubular Labs), with over 22 billion annual views, and 240 million unique viewers per month.
Its flagship property, Pocoyo, is distributed across 100+ platforms, including Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Spotify, and FAST channels.
“We’re building something that’s never existed before. Animaj is a new kind of media company: data-driven, AI-powered, digital-first but multiplatform by design. We start where kids are—YouTube, Roblox, TikTok, Spotify—and we build from there,” says Sixte de Vauplane, co-founder & CEO.
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