Kakao’s Japanese subsidiary acquires translation startup

Voithru Inc., a translation and localization company [Source : Voithru]

South Korea’s Kakao acquired Voithru Inc., a translation and localization company, to strengthen its global intellectual property (IP) value chain in Japan’s cartoon publishing markets.

According to sources on Sunday, Kakao’s Japanese subsidiary Kakao Piccoma Corp. acquired a 70 percent stake in Voithru for about 20 billion won ($16.2 million) late last year.

Voithru, founded in 2018, runs a translation platform named MINGLO to connect customers and translators around the world.

Kakao’s Japanese subsidiary, Kakao Piccoma Corp., acquires translation startup. [Source : Kakao Piccoma]

Kakao Piccoma decided on the acquisition for potential synergistic benefits in the advance of its cartoon and webtoon content business into Japan, France and other major markets. Piccoma, a webtoon and webnovel platform operated by Kakao Piccoma, has grown rapidly by providing Japanese digital comics and webnovels and Korean webtoons.

According to market data, Piccoma took the top spot in global comic app sales in July 2020 and has maintained leadership to date. The number of monthly active users (MAU) surpassed 10 million at the end of September last year.

Voithru has grown fast in the market of webtoons, web novels and dramas, as well as in the YouTube video market. The company’s cumulative translation content exceeded 300,000, with the number of partner companies over 150.