Toonsutra, a prominent webtoon comic app in India, has secured investment from Gen Fukunaga, the esteemed founder of Funimation. Fukunaga, a renowned figure in the anime and streaming industries, will also join Toonsutra’s advisory board. The financial details of the investment have not been disclosed.
Fukunaga, a Japanese-American entrepreneur and engineer, previously sold Funimation to Sony Pictures Entertainment, leading to its merger with Crunchyroll and forming a leading digital anime platform. According to Goldman Sachs, Crunchyroll is expected to account for 36% of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s profits by 2028.
Fukunaga expressed enthusiasm about Toonsutra, noting that the global webtoon market is experiencing significant growth, similar to the anime boom he witnessed with Funimation. He highlighted Toonsutra’s innovative approach and deep understanding of local preferences as key factors in its potential to capitalize on this trend. Fukunaga looks forward to applying his experience in building global fan communities to help Toonsutra become a leading platform for digital comics and pop culture in India.
Toonsutra has attracted investment from a notable group of investors, including the Sony Innovation Fund, Maiora Capital, Kun Gao (Co-Founder of Crunchyroll), Jeremy Liew (Partner at Lightspeed), Kevin Lin (Co-Founder of Twitch), Patrick Lee (Co-Founder of Rotten Tomatoes), Holly Lui (Co-Founder of Kabam), Benjamin Grubbs (Co-Founder of CreatorPlus), and Steve Chung (former CEO of Americas at CJENM).
Founded by Sharad Devarajan and Vishal Anand, Toonsutra is the top comic app in India, with over a million downloads on Apple and Android platforms. The app has partnered with major global publishers to offer more than 550 titles and 250,000 episodes of webtoon content in Indian languages.
Vishal Anand remarked that Fukunaga’s involvement as an investor and advisor highlights the vast potential of the Indian digital content market. Anand believes that Fukunaga’s exceptional experience in scaling anime and manga platforms will be instrumental in expanding Toonsutra’s offerings and enhancing its user experience. With Fukunaga’s guidance, Toonsutra aims to not only be India’s top webtoon app but also to build a transformative ecosystem for digital storytelling.
Sharad Devarajan added that Fukunaga’s extensive experience in developing successful fan platforms is a significant asset as Toonsutra leads the webtoon revolution in India. Toonsutra is committed to fostering a community of passionate fans and pop culture enthusiasts, catering to India’s extensive mobile youth market, which exceeds 700 million.
The global webtoon market is projected to reach $60 billion by 2030, reflecting its considerable growth potential within the media and content sectors.
