AnotherBall, represented by CEO Shunsuke Oyu, is pleased to announce that it has secured JPY 2.5 billion, approximately USD 16 million, in debt financing from Shoko Chukin Bank, MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Mizuho Bank. This brings the company's cumulative funding raised to JPY 4.7 billion, approximately USD 30 million.
The funding will be used to accelerate the global expansion of Avvy, a platform that lets anyone become a VTuber in just one minute, and to expand hiring. With support from an All-Japan partnership of Japan's leading financial institutions, AnotherBall aims to achieve global success in overseas markets, where overseas users already account for more than half of Avvy's user base (*), through proactive content collaborations and other initiatives.
* As of the end of May 2025, beta version.
■ Background: Content Exports as a National Strategy
*Source: Compiled based on Ministry of Finance "Trade Statistics" and Human Media "Japan and Global Media × Content Market Database 2023"
According to research by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Japan's content industry overseas revenue (exports) has expanded sixfold over the past decade-plus, reaching approximately USD 41 billion (JPY 5.8 trillion) in 2023. This figure surpasses the export value of the semiconductor and steel industries, positioning content as Japan's second-largest core industry after the automotive industry (*1).
In June 2025, the Japanese government formally designated the content industry as a "core national industry," setting a target of USD 127 billion (JPY 20 trillion) in overseas revenue by 2033 (*2). Content-related technologies have also been included as one of the "17 specified critical technology fields," accelerating both public and private investment in the sector.
In particular, Japan's domestic VTuber market is estimated to have grown fourfold over the past four years, reaching approximately USD 840 million (JPY 126 billion) (*3). Within this rapidly expanding market, AnotherBall is committed to serving as a bridge that delivers Japanese content to overseas audiences.
*1 https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000026.000017625.html
*2 https://www.meti.go.jp/shingikai/mono_info_service/entertainment_creative/pdf/20250624_1.pdf
*3 https://www.yano.co.jp/press-release/show/press_id/3806
■ About AnotherBall
AnotherBall is a startup with the mission of "Create Mutual Understanding Beyond Boundaries." Our core businesses include the VTuber app "Avvy" (described below) and Studio Mayflower, a game and video/animation production studio that joined the group in May 2024.
We refer to the source of the free worlds and stories that creators imagine collectively as "mōsōryoku" — the power of imagination. Guided by our belief in "simultaneously building multiple ventures that accelerate Japan-rooted power of imagination," AnotherBall will continue to develop businesses at the intersection of entertainment and global markets.
■ About the VTuber Platform "Avvy"
"Avvy," the app that lets anyone become a VTuber in just one minute, has attracted significant attention both domestically and internationally, surpassing 200,000 registrations within just 10 days of its beta release.
Traditionally, getting started as a VTuber required substantial initial investment — often hundreds of thousands of yen (more than approx. a couple of thousands USD) — for illustration, modeling, and livestreaming equipment, presenting a major barrier for individuals. Avvy enables high-quality avatar creation and livestreaming entirely from a single smartphone, with a free basic tier, dramatically lowering economic and technical barriers. Our vision is a world where anyone can make a living through creative activity.
■ Comments from Banking Partners
Koichi Takahashi, Executive Officer, Head of Startup Business Department, Shoko Chukin Bank
If the U.S. and China are betting on AI, Japan is betting on Shunsuke Oyu. The last weapon Japan has to compete on the world stage is its "mōsōryoku (the power of imagination)." We are convinced that AnotherBall can deliver Japan's imagination to the world, enrich the world, and unite the world as one. "If Shunsuke Oyu can't pull it off, no one can." With that conviction, we are going all-in on AnotherBall.
Kouki Abe, MUFG Bank
Japan's entertainment and content are a source of "soft power" that captivates people around the world beyond borders. Countless people across the globe have come to love Japan through its manga, anime, games, and characters. AnotherBall's business is a bold challenge to deliver VTubers — a new form of Japan's appeal — to the entire world. We at MUFG Group will also support AnotherBall in earnest as they take on the world stage from Day 1 with "Entertainment × Technology × Global." "Now, let's go astonish the world!"
Kentaro Saito, Startup Business Promotion Department, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
As the competitiveness of content originating in Japan draws renewed attention, we believe efforts to broaden its base are deeply meaningful. We look forward to AnotherBall steadily growing its business while continuing to create new opportunities for creation and expression through continued challenges.
Jun Yonemitsu, General Manager, Roppongi Corporate Banking Department I, Mizuho Bank
AnotherBall's challenge is one that opens new possibilities for VTubers — global entertainment born in Japan. By combining cutting-edge technology with a deep love for entertainment, we have great expectations for their initiative to connect the world through enthusiasm and smiles.
If we do not take on this challenge now, the presence of Japanese entertainment in the world may fade. Mizuho Group will unite behind this challenge together with AnotherBall.
■ Comment from Shunsuke Oyu, CEO, AnotherBall
In a future where technology has advanced beyond all expectations, I believe one of the last industries left standing will be "Entertainment." And in that domain, what will determine success or failure is something only humans can possess: a "wild imagination" and an "obsessive devotion to what one loves."
AnotherBall started from a single conviction: that Japan's overwhelming "mōsōryoku (the power of imagination)" — born from Japan's culture, climate, and history — could still compete on the world stage if accelerated by technology. With this round of support from Japan's leading financial institutions — support that goes beyond the usual bounds of a banker's role and carries the soul of a true "All-Japan" effort — AnotherBall is now able to take on even greater challenges.
We will bring back to Japan's startup ecosystem a non-rational fervor and a youthful spirit shared by adults, and create products that resonate deeply with audiences around the world.
Company Overview
- Company Name: AnotherBall Pte. Ltd. / AnotherBall Inc.
- Locations: Singapore / Japan
- Representative: CEO, Shunsuke Oyu
- Business: Development and operation of the VTuber platform "Avvy," and related businesses
- URL: https://anotherball.com/
