Tencent has invested in $125 million in online anime platform Kuaikan, as part of the internet behemoth’s long-term push to monetize platforms popular with younger users.
In announcing the investment on Tuesday, Kuaikan didn’t detail how the money will be spent, but highlighted its ambition to become the “Disney of the new era.”
CEO Chen Anni, who founded Kuaikan four years ago, said the platform will continue to operate independently. The platform, whose users were mostly born after the year 2000, aims to focus on building an online community and promoting China-made anime.
Kuaikan now has over 200 million users and more than 40 million monthly active users. Its core demographic grew up alongside the Chinese internet, and has increasingly become the main market for many online content businesses.
Li Zhaohui, a partner at a Tencent investment unit, said the company is optimistic about the anime industry’s long-term potential. Li said Kuaikan had an “active community” as well as “high-quality and diverse” anime works that can “thrive in the long-run.”
– This article originally appeared on Caixin Global
