The archive · Consumer Apps · Strategic decision · 2024–2026
Creator's X bets AI plus studio buyouts fix anime's labor crunch; ¥1.9B Series A
Ex-U-NEXT operators bet in-house AI-assisted studios beat selling tools: ¥110M seed, then a ¥1.9B Series A to roll up anime makers.
Creator's X (株式会社Creator's X)
What the business is
A Tokyo startup group that produces anime with in-house AI assistance, owning animation studios K&K Design and BENTEN Film plus background-art studio SAIGA, to improve animators' working conditions.
Starting capital：¥110M seed from XTech Ventures and Terrada Warehouse (announced January 2025), then ¥1.9B Series A first close in November 2025
How it started
In February 2024, Shunsuke Fujiwara and Yoshiro Yuasa — who had built robotics and AI businesses together at U-NEXT Holdings — founded Creator's X after an anime studio approached them for help developing AI tools. They concluded the industry needed an operating model, not standalone software, so K&K Design, a Nagoya anime studio already ahead on AI adoption, became a wholly owned subsidiary and studio SAIGA was created for background art, a role facing severe talent shortages.
What happened
Creator's X kept its AI engineers inside the group and set a goal of producing a complete story episode by fiscal 2025. In January 2025 it raised ¥110M from XTech Ventures and Terrada Warehouse. On May 29, 2025 it acquired all shares of Gaina from Kinoshita Group, renaming it BENTEN Film on August 1, 2025; the studio had produced TV anime including 'Piano no Mori', 'Babanbabanban Vampire' and 'Grendizer U'. The company moved its headquarters to Kichijoji to work beside BENTEN Film and introduced per-production management accounting. In November 2025 it announced a ¥1.9B Series A first close — equity from Global Brain and Hakuhodo DY Ventures, loans from Mizuho, MUFG, Resona and Shoko Chukin — to fund the acquisition, AI development and hiring.
No ending yet — it is still running.
Background
Creator's X, founded in Tokyo in February 2024 by Shunsuke Fujiwara and Yoshiro Yuasa, is an anime production group that uses AI as an assistant inside its own studios. The founders had previously launched robotics and AI businesses at U-NEXT Holdings, and started the company after an anime studio asked them to help build AI tools — a request that led them to conclude the industry's bottleneck was working conditions and scheduling, not a lack of software.
Their answer was vertical integration. K&K Design, a Nagoya studio already using AI tools, became a wholly owned subsidiary, and studio SAIGA was set up for background art, one of the most talent-starved parts of the pipeline. In May 2025 the company bought all shares of Gaina from Kinoshita Group and renamed it BENTEN Film in August 2025, gaining a studio with TV credits including 'Piano no Mori', 'Babanbabanban Vampire' and 'Grendizer U'. It moved its own headquarters to Kichijoji to work beside the new subsidiary and began per-production management accounting.
Funding followed the structure: a ¥110M seed from XTech Ventures and Terrada Warehouse in January 2025, then a ¥1.9B Series A first close in November 2025 combining equity from Global Brain and Hakuhodo DY Ventures with loans from Mizuho, MUFG, Resona and Shoko Chukin. The money went to the BENTEN Film acquisition, AI development and hiring, with the group by then spanning K&K Design, SAIGA and BENTEN Film — three studios under one roof built to prove that AI can let animators focus on creative work.
What has to be true
- Both founders had built robotics and AI businesses at U-NEXT Holdings, giving them the operating credibility a conservative craft industry demands.
- Instead of selling AI tools into skeptical studios, they acquired studios and embedded AI engineers in real production, making the tooling answer to actual workflows.
- Three studios — K&K Design, newly founded SAIGA, and acquired BENTEN Film — gave the group its own production pipeline before the Series A.
- The raise combined strategic-VC equity with bank debt, matching the capital structure to an M&A-led rollup rather than a pure software round.
What can be applied
AI adoption in a craft industry is an operations problem, not a software sale: own the line, prove the workflow on real shows, then spread the operating model.
Aftermath
As of September 2026, Creator's X operates a three-studio group — K&K Design (animation), studio SAIGA (background art) and BENTEN Film (full animation) — with AI engineers working inside production rather than selling tools externally. It had set a goal of producing a complete story episode using its in-house AI workflow by fiscal 2025, and is hiring engineers, artists, art directors and producers. Its stated long-term aim is to keep producing high-quality anime while improving animators' working conditions so more young people choose the profession.
Sources
- AIでアニメ制作のCreator's X、19億円を調達 「旧ガイナ」を買収
- AI時代のアニメ制作会社Creator's XがシリーズAで総額19億円の調達
- クリエイターの創造力を解放する、Creator's Xが描くAI活用の姿
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