# Comisma
Comisma (コミスマ株式会社) is a Tokyo-based manga and anime intellectual-property company that operates the free manga app GANMA! and owns the digital anime studio Qzil.la. It was founded on February 1, 2013 by [Koki Sato](https://www.edgepedia.org/koki-sato) (佐藤光紀), who remains its chief executive, and was known as Comicsmart (コミックスマート株式会社) until January 6, 2025.[1](https://www.comicsmart.co.jp/en/company/) • [2](https://dimension-note.jp/articles/interview/11818/) The company describes its main business as an IP platform business and counts Qzil.la, Inc. as an affiliated company.[1](https://www.comicsmart.co.jp/en/company/)
| Fact | Detail |
| --- | --- |
| Founded | February 1, 2013, as a Septeni Group new business[1](https://www.comicsmart.co.jp/en/company/) • [3](https://www.dimensionfund.co.jp/portfolio/comics-mart/) |
| Founder and CEO | Koki Sato, former president of Septeni Holdings[1](https://www.comicsmart.co.jp/en/company/) • [4](https://forbesjapan.com/articles/detail/85319) |
| Headquarters | PMO Jimbocho, Kanda-Jimbocho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo[1](https://www.comicsmart.co.jp/en/company/) |
| Main products | GANMA! manga app (19 million+ downloads), Studio GANMA!, Qzil.la anime studio, RouteM[5](https://www.comicsmart.co.jp/en/) • [6](https://initial.inc/companies/A-15923) |
| Funding | Series A completed 2024 (recorded at USD 19.3 million in August 2024); Series B by March 2026[7](https://dimension-note.jp/articles/interview/11843/) • [8](https://linkedin.com/company/comicsmart-inc.) • [6](https://initial.inc/companies/A-15923) |
| Valuation | ¥17,213 million post-money including potential shares, as of March 26, 2026[6](https://initial.inc/companies/A-15923) |
| Employees | 137 (February 2026); capital ¥100 million (January 2026)[9](https://job.mynavi.jp/27/pc/search/corp278850/outline.html) |
| Listing | Private; not listed on any exchange[6](https://initial.inc/companies/A-15923) |
## Founding and founder
Koki Sato, born in 1975 in Kunitachi, Tokyo and a Rikkyo University law graduate, joined Sub and Liminal, now Septeni Holdings, in 1997.[2](https://dimension-note.jp/articles/interview/11818/) In 1999 he started the company's internet advertising business as head of a new business unit.[2](https://dimension-note.jp/articles/interview/11818/) DIMENSION's portfolio record additionally states he became president of Septeni, the predecessor, in 2006 and of Septeni Holdings in 2009.[3](https://www.dimensionfund.co.jp/portfolio/comics-mart/)
In 2013 Sato founded the IP platform business as a Septeni Group new business and became president of Comicsmart, the company now called Comisma.[3](https://www.dimensionfund.co.jp/portfolio/comics-mart/) He led it alongside his Septeni Holdings role until 2024, when he retired from the Septeni Holdings board and the Septeni Group spun Comisma off as an independent startup.[2](https://dimension-note.jp/articles/interview/11818/) Forbes Japan reports he began devoting himself to Comisma full time in April 2024.[4](https://forbesjapan.com/articles/detail/85319)
## Business and products
Comisma runs two businesses: a studio business that develops original manga and anime IP, and a platform business that operates GANMA!, a free, daily-updated distribution service for original manga covering battle, romantic comedy, science fiction, gag, and four-panel genres.[3](https://www.dimensionfund.co.jp/portfolio/comics-mart/) The company says GANMA! has surpassed 19 million downloads and carries more than 100 original titles.[5](https://www.comicsmart.co.jp/en/)
The studio side includes the production unit Studio GANMA! and the digital anime studio Qzil.la, which produces high-end anime and operates a multi-channel network centered on YouTube.[6](https://initial.inc/companies/A-15923) • [5](https://www.comicsmart.co.jp/en/) Comisma also runs RouteM, a manga-artist support program.[6](https://initial.inc/companies/A-15923)
Its works include three million sellers, each with more than 1 million copies in print, led by *My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999* (山田くんとLv999の恋をする), which has been adapted into a live-action film.[4](https://forbesjapan.com/articles/detail/85319)
## Funding and ownership
Comisma is a private, unlisted company registered in Chiyoda-ku, [Tokyo](https://www.edgepedia.org/tokyo-ep6jg0kyrw), with capital of ¥100 million as of January 2026.[6](https://initial.inc/companies/A-15923) • [9](https://job.mynavi.jp/27/pc/search/corp278850/outline.html) Sato said in an interview that the company completed its spin-off from its parent and completed a [Series A round](https://www.edgepedia.org/series-a-round).[7](https://dimension-note.jp/articles/interview/11843/) DIMENSION's first investment came in August 2024,[3](https://www.dimensionfund.co.jp/portfolio/comics-mart/) and a funding database records a Series A of USD 19.3 million on August 6, 2024, as well as an earlier round of JPY 710.0 million on October 1, 2022, which the database labels a seed round; the company's recruitment profile instead describes an October 2022 event as a Series A raised from two venture capital firms. The label of that 2022 round is not settled between the two records.[8](https://linkedin.com/company/comicsmart-inc.) • [9](https://job.mynavi.jp/27/pc/search/corp278850/outline.html)
The database lists Comisma's investors as [Incubate Fund](https://www.edgepedia.org/incubate-fund), Boost Capital, Dai-ichi Life Insurance, DIMENSION, and World Innovation Lab (WiL), and records the Series B as its latest round, with a post-funding valuation including potential shares of ¥17,213 million as of March 26, 2026.[6](https://initial.inc/companies/A-15923)
## Scale and operations
Comisma employed 137 people as of February 2026, and its revenue is undisclosed.[9](https://job.mynavi.jp/27/pc/search/corp278850/outline.html) Forbes Japan reports the company keeps more than a hundred manga artists on staff to produce works that it then develops on GANMA!, alongside its own anime studio, in a vertically integrated model.[4](https://forbesjapan.com/articles/detail/85319) Its overseas operations had reached 12 countries as of the same reporting.[4](https://forbesjapan.com/articles/detail/85319)
## By the numbers
The company's figures sketch a studio-heavy IP producer rather than a typical consumer-app startup. The 19 million downloads of GANMA sit alongside roughly 137 employees, of whom over a hundred are manga artists,[9](https://job.mynavi.jp/27/pc/search/corp278850/outline.html) • [4](https://forbesjapan.com/articles/detail/85319) a staffing profile closer to a production house than a platform company. The ¥17.2 billion valuation recorded in March 2026[6](https://initial.inc/companies/A-15923) is paired with company projections of 130 percent year-on-year growth for 2025, driven by manga book sales, an anime-studio acquisition and overseas expansion,[4](https://forbesjapan.com/articles/detail/85319) and with external recognition: Forbes Japan's January 2026 issue ranked Sato fifth in its Japan Entrepreneur Ranking 2026, crediting growth from vertically integrating the GANMA! app with an anime studio.[10](https://www.dimensionfund.co.jp/news/20251127/)
## Recent developments
The company's structure changed substantially in the years after 2022. In February 2023 the company moved its head office.[9](https://job.mynavi.jp/27/pc/search/corp278850/outline.html) • [9](https://job.mynavi.jp/27/pc/search/corp278850/outline.html) In April 2024 Sato moved to Comisma full time[4](https://forbesjapan.com/articles/detail/85319) and the spin-off from Septeni Holdings followed.[2](https://dimension-note.jp/articles/interview/11818/)
Funding and partnerships followed. Sato cites the completed Series A as a milestone of the spin-off period,[7](https://dimension-note.jp/articles/interview/11843/) and DIMENSION's first investment is dated August 2024.[3](https://www.dimensionfund.co.jp/portfolio/comics-mart/) From April 2024, Comisma partnered with a major US publisher to launch English-language editions of its comics.[7](https://dimension-note.jp/articles/interview/11843/) On January 6, 2025, the company officially changed its registered name from Comicsmart to Comisma.[2](https://dimension-note.jp/articles/interview/11818/) By January 2026 the group had agreed to jointly establish a US anime studio, Studio Azuki, together with Azuki and Xenotoon,[9](https://job.mynavi.jp/27/pc/search/corp278850/outline.html) and by March 2026 a Series B round was on record.[6](https://initial.inc/companies/A-15923)
## Strategy and competitive position
Sato frames Comisma's model as an export business: manga produced in Japanese studios is sent to overseas markets, which he considers capital-efficient, with anime adaptation serving as a global marketing lever he likens to the K-pop model.[7](https://dimension-note.jp/articles/interview/11843/) In his Manga Sphere strategy, described in a venture-capital podcast, Comisma starts from the studio rather than distribution, treats its own app as a theater where a work's value is validated before expansion into anime and video, and grows IP on a 10-year timescale aimed at a global audience.[11](https://www.xtech-ventures.co.jp/info/562)
On competition, Sato argues that manga and anime is a category where Japan monopolizes supply capacity, which he presents as the company's structural advantage.[11](https://www.xtech-ventures.co.jp/info/562) The company's stated mission is to enhance the professional value of manga artists and make it a career children aspire to.[5](https://www.comicsmart.co.jp/en/)
Revenue remains undisclosed.[9](https://job.mynavi.jp/27/pc/search/corp278850/outline.html)
## References
1. [COMPANY | COMISMA INC.](https://www.comicsmart.co.jp/en/company/)
2. [日本発のグローバルIPプラットフォーマーへ / コミスマ株式会社 佐藤 光紀社長が「起業家に必要な素養」を語る（第1話）](https://dimension-note.jp/articles/interview/11818/)
3. [COMISMA | PORTFOLIO | DIMENSION株式会社](https://www.dimensionfund.co.jp/portfolio/comics-mart/)
4. [次なる舞台はハリウッド、コミスマ式メガヒットIPの生み出し方：佐藤 光紀 | Forbes JAPAN](https://forbesjapan.com/articles/detail/85319)
5. [COMISMA Inc.](https://www.comicsmart.co.jp/en/)
6. [コミスマ株式会社｜スピーダ スタートアップ情報リサーチ](https://initial.inc/companies/A-15923)
7. [マンガ家の職業価値を高め、広く活躍できる社会へ。コミスマ 佐藤 光紀社長が「今後の展望」を語る（第4話）](https://dimension-note.jp/articles/interview/11843/)
8. https://linkedin.com/company/comicsmart-inc.
9. [コミスマグループの新卒採用・会社概要 | マイナビ2027](https://job.mynavi.jp/27/pc/search/corp278850/outline.html)
10. [Forbes JAPAN「日本の起業家ランキング2026」5位に出資先のコミスマ 佐藤 光紀氏が選出 | DIMENSION株式会社](https://www.dimensionfund.co.jp/news/20251127/)
11. [#184 日本発IPで世界を獲るコミスマの“マンガスフィア”構想に見るIPによる価値最大化と長期経営の本質 | XTech Ventures株式会社](https://www.xtech-ventures.co.jp/info/562)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Economics and business › Founders, operators, and investors › Technology founders and companies › Asia-Pacific technology outside China › Japan and Korea internet, software, and games › Japanese internet and tech companies*
*Initially written Sep 19, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 15, 2026 · Last review: Sep 30, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license