Activ8, the company which manages Kizuna Ai and other virtual YouTuber talent, announced it will form a new company “Kizuna Ai Co., Ltd.” The company will tentatively launch on May 11 as a spin-off of Activ8 with its focus set on production management for the company’s virtual idol star.
The Kizuna Ai YouTube channel “A.I.Channel” first launched in 2016. Since then, she has become the world’s most popular Virtual YouTuber and is on Newsweek Japan’s list of “globally respected Japanese people.” Kizuna Ai Co., Ltd. will retain members from the “Project AI” team with Eriko Matsumoto serving as the company’s representative director.
In an interesting twist, the company’s founding announcement officially reveals voice actress Nozomi Kasuga’s involvement with the virtual idol. Kasuga was long suspected, but never officially announced to be, Kizuna Ai’s voice actress. Kasuga has signed on as an advisor at Kizuna Ai Co., Ltd. and she confirmed on Twitter that she is the voice behind the character.
Kasuga left her agency earlier this month.
The founding of Kizuna Ai Co., Ltd. follows recent reports of debt at Activ8. The company reported a total deficit of 675 million yen (approximately US$6.1 million) in its third annual quarter of 2019. Its statement of retained earnings was negative 720 million yen (approximately US$6.6 million).
Source: PR Times