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- Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors
Crunchyroll was acquired by Funimation for $1.2B in December 2020.
Crunchyroll acquisition price
$1.2B
Acquired by Funimation · Dec 2020
Cumulative funding Crunchyroll raised
$22M
across 1 funding round
Key investors in Crunchyroll
Otter Media
About Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is an anime streaming service, founded in 2006, that offers simulcasts and a library of popular anime series including Naruto Shippuden and Sailor Moon Crystal across North America, Europe, and Latin America. The platform differentiates itself from broad entertainment services by targeting anime fans specifically, complementing streaming with original content, ecommerce, and licensing and distribution of Japanese anime and manga through subsidiaries in Europe. Crunchyroll has expanded internationally to balance its revenue between North American and other markets.
Founded
2008
HQ
Website
Status
Acquired
Customer focus
B2C
Revenue model
Subscription
Valuation
$1.2B (acquired Dec 2020)
Crunchyroll Acquisition
Crunchyroll was acquired by Funimation for $1.2B on 9 December 2020.
Before the acquisition Crunchyroll had raised $22M across 1 funding round.
| Acquirer | Date | Type | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Dec 2020 | Strategic M&A | $1.2B |
Crunchyroll Funding History
Crunchyroll has raised a total of $22M across 1 funding round.
Crunchyroll funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2015 | Undisclosed stage | Otter Media (lead) | $22M | Crunchyroll, operating under parent company Ellation, is an anime streaming service founded in 2006, offering simulcasts of popular series like Naruto Shippuden and Sailor Moon Crystal in regions including North America, France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Latin America. In November 2015, Otter Media invested $22 million in Ellation to expand product and engineering capabilities, support original content initiatives, and fund a joint venture with Sumitomo Corporation for anime co-productions. At the time, Crunchyroll reported 20 million registered users, with projections for 750,000 paid subscribers by year-end 2015 (up from 700,000 the prior month), and monthly viewership of 1.5 billion minutes of anime, 80% from English-speaking North American users. This investment followed Otter Media's prior majority acquisition of Crunchyroll in December 2013 by The Chernin Group, part of Otter Media's portfolio as a joint venture with AT&T. Early investors included TV Tokyo and Bitway with $750,000 each in 2010. The 2015 round was described as corporate funding rather than traditional VC, providing a predictable capital path while maintaining a startup-like structure. Crunchyroll positioned itself as a niche service super-serving anime fans, differentiating from broad platforms like Netflix and Hulu by focusing on depth for passionate audiences. Funds targeted engineering growth and originals, potentially more lucrative than licensing foreign rights. Later developments included Otter Media acquiring remaining minority stakes in Ellation from TV Tokyo in 2018, achieving full ownership. |
Who has invested in Crunchyroll?
1 investor has backed Crunchyroll across its funding rounds, including Otter Media.
Lead investors include Otter Media.
Crunchyroll Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
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Start Free TrialAcquisitions by Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll has acquired 3 companies to date.
Last acquisition by Crunchyroll was on August 4th 2022. Crunchyroll acquired Right Stuf for undisclosed valuation.
Latest Acquisitions by Crunchyroll
| Description | Right Stuf is a Des Moines-headquartered e-commerce retailer of anime merchandise including DVDs, Blu-rays, manga, and soundtracks. Acquired by Crunchyroll in 2018, it ships worldwide from Iowa warehouses, offering exclusive editions from studios like Aniplex and Sentai Filmworks. The platform maintains a catalog of over 10,000 titles for collectors and fans. | - | Redux is a video discovery platform that curates personalized channels mimicking cable TV experiences. Users access programmer-selected content from YouTube and other sources through lean-back interfaces shared by friends and tastemakers. Redux operates in the United States, emphasizing effortless browsing of online videos without search fatigue. |
| HQ Country | |||
| HQ City | Des Moines, IA | Paris | San Francisco, CA |
| Deal Date | 4 Aug 2022 | 6 Sep 2019 | 12 Jun 2014 |
| Valuation | undisclosed | undisclosed | undisclosed |
| EV/Revenue | |||
| EV/EBITDA | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Crunchyroll acquisitions and their M&A valuation multiples. Start Free Trial | |||
Crunchyroll Competitors
Crunchyroll competitors include listed companies like Saregama India and Viaplay, and private ones like NewsBreak, Kuaikan Manhua, Substack and Tango Me.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Private | - | - | $1.1B | - | ||
| Private | $50M | - | $1.3B | 25.0x | ||
| Private | $50M | - | $1.1B | 22.0x | ||
| Private | - | - | $1.1B | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $100M | $36M | $979M | 8.6x | ||
| Publicly listed | $1.8B | ($40M) | $631M | 0.6x |
Crunchyroll Public Comps
Crunchyroll is no longer listed, but its public comps include FuboTV, iQIYI, MNC Digital Entertainment, Saregama India, Storytel, Nine Entertainment, Zee Entertainment, Stingray Group, Skyworth Digital and MBC Group.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $1.6B | ($122M) | 1.9x | 0.5x | (25.2x) | 23.6x | |||
| $4.1B | $2B | 0.6x | 0.7x | 1.3x | 104.4x | |||
| $216M | $73M | 4.7x | - | 14.0x | - | |||
| $100M | $36M | 9.7x | 8.6x | 26.8x | 24.6x | |||
| $410M | $71M | 2.3x | 2.1x | 13.2x | 10.5x | |||
| $1.6B | ($279M) | 1.3x | 1.3x | (7.2x) | 6.9x | |||
| $843M | $43M | 0.6x | 0.6x | 12.5x | 8.9x | |||
| $328M | $28M | 3.5x | 2.9x | 40.8x | 8.5x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Crunchyroll competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Crunchyroll
| When was Crunchyroll founded? | Crunchyroll was founded in 2008. |
| Where is Crunchyroll headquartered? | Crunchyroll is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. |
| Is Crunchyroll publicly listed? | No, Crunchyroll was acquired by Funimation in December 2020. |
| Who acquired Crunchyroll? | Crunchyroll was acquired by Funimation in December 2020. |
| How much was Crunchyroll acquired for? | Crunchyroll was acquired for $1.2B in December 2020. |
| How much funding has Crunchyroll raised? | Crunchyroll has raised $22M across 1 funding round. |
| What was Crunchyroll's last funding round? | Crunchyroll's last funding round was a $22M undisclosed-stage round in November 2015, led by Otter Media. |
| Who are Crunchyroll's investors? | Crunchyroll's investors include Otter Media. |
| Which companies are comparable to Crunchyroll? | Companies comparable to Crunchyroll include NewsBreak, Kuaikan Manhua, Substack, Tango Me, Saregama India and Viaplay. |
| How many companies has Crunchyroll acquired? | Crunchyroll has acquired 3 companies, including Right Stuf, Viz Media Europe and Redux. |
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