The $60B Anime & Manga Boom is Finally Open to Investors
When people hear anime & manga, they think of cartoons and comics. But nowadays, they should be thinking of dollar signs.
The global anime and manga market’s worth $37B, projected to hit $60B by 2030. Which makes TOKYOPOP’s first investment opportunity for outside investors all the more exciting.
TOKYOPOP helped bring anime and manga to the West nearly 30 years ago. Fast forward to today, they’re generating $15M in annual revenue, have 100+ IPs in their portfolio, and distribution across 50+ countries.
They’ve got licensing rights to IP for Disney, Nintendo, Warner Bros., and more, and distribution locked down through Penguin, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and beyond. Now, they’re on a mission to find and scale the next breakout anime franchise.
For decades, this investment wasn’t available. Not anymore. Get 5% in guaranteed TOKYOPOP investor bonus stock by May 6 as they scale toward $50M in targeted 2030 revenue.
This is a paid advertisement for TokyoPop Regulation CF offering. Please read the offering circular at https://invest.tokyopop.com/
The latest data from the week of May 4, 2026, reflects a contraction in overall venture capital activity, continuing a trend of volatility observed in historical reports. While the total capital raised experienced a slight increase, the decline in the volume of deals suggests that investors are prioritizing fewer, more substantial capital injections over a broader spread of smaller investments.
Analysis of recent sector activity highlights a persistent and pervasive focus on Artificial Intelligence across diverse verticals, including healthcare, fintech, enterprise automation, and infrastructure. This thematic consistency demonstrates that AI remains the primary driver of capital allocation, regardless of broader market fluctuations in deal counts. Furthermore, specialized hardware and infrastructure—ranging from GPU-powered cloud services to photonics for data centers—are increasingly attracting funding, indicating a move toward supporting the foundational layer of the AI ecosystem rather than solely focusing on application-layer software.
When compared to previous weeks, such as those documented in the reports for April 28, 2026 and October 2025, the current market behaves similarly to observed periods of consolidation. The data frequently oscillates, alternating between peaks of high activity and necessary pullbacks, which characterizes a mature and selective investor landscape rather than a persistent downward trend. The continued interest in specialized sectors like biotech, fintech, and clean energy, as seen throughout the reports from January 2026 and late 2025, confirms that capital remains available for companies providing tangible solutions to complex, regulated, or industrial problems.
In conclusion, the market is currently balancing risk with strategic, thematic investment. While the weekly fluctuations in deal volume remain significant, the sustained focus on AI-enabled infrastructure and specialized, high-impact technologies suggests a disciplined and resilient venture environment adapting to macro-level conditions.
Last week's funding rounds
49 funding rounds, -38% from last week.

Number of funding rounds - May 4, 2026 by Parsers VC
Total raised $5.8 billion, +2% since last week

Total raised $, bln - May 4, 2026 by Parsers VC
Funding rounds in United States
24 funding rounds, total raised $1.75B
Aidoc | Always on AI (Develops clinical AI solutions for faster, more accurate medical diagnoses) Raises $150M Series E Round from General Catalyst, Goldman Sachs #Diagnostics #AI #SaaS #MedicalImaging #Healthcare
Axoft (Develops implantable Brain-Computer Interfaces using a novel biocompatible material) Raises $55M Series A Round #Biotech #AI #Neurotech #MedicalDevice #Healthcare
Babcock & Wilcox (Provides energy and environmental products/services, specializing in fuel switching technologies) Raises $21M #Engineering #Energy #Renewables #Industrial #Environmental
Bumble (Operates dating and social connection apps, including Bumble, Badoo, and BFF) Raises $475M from STORY3 Capital Partners #Dating #ConsumerTech #AI #SocialNetworking #MobileApp
Clarasight (An AI platform optimizing enterprise travel and expense spend) Raises $11.5M Series A Round from AlleyCorp, Vestigo Ventures, Pulse Fund, Thayer Ventures #Fintech #Enterprise #AI #Travel #SaaS
Creati Studio: Generate Viral Video Ads in Minutes (Develops AI-powered video editing tools for content creators and businesses) Raises $20M from Redpoint Ventures #DeepTech #ContentCreation #AI #VideoEditing #SaaS
Fence (Rebuilds infrastructure for asset-backed finance with a software-driven system) Raises $20M #Automation #AI #SaaS #FinTech #Finance
Hightouch (AI-powered data and marketing platform for personalized campaigns) Raises $150M Series D Round from Y Combinator, Amplify Partners, ICONIQ, Bain Capital, Sapphire Ventures, Goldman Sachs #Automation #AI #SaaS #Marketing #Data
IC Realtime (Provides professional-grade surveillance and security technology solutions) Raises $2M Series A Round #Analytics #AI #Surveillance #Software #Security
JuliaHub (Develops an agentic AI platform for modeling and simulating industrial systems) Raises $65M Series B Round from General Catalyst #DigitalTwins #AI #Software #Simulation #Engineering
Kashable (Offers financial wellness services, including credit monitoring and low-cost credit products, via employer partnerships) Raises $60M Series C Round from Revolution, Goldman Sachs #Credit #B2B #HRTech #FinTech #FinancialWellness
Liquid (A 24/7 multi-asset trading platform offering access to crypto, equities, and more) Raises $18M from General Catalyst, K5 Global, Anti Fund, IFC Venture Capital Group, Paradigm, SVAngel #Crypto #AI #Trading #Investment #Fintech
Liquid Instruments (Pioneers software-defined test solutions, consolidating instruments into a reconfigurable platform) Raises $50M Series C Round #Engineering #AI #TestEquipment #Software #Hardware
Netomi (Provides an agentic customer experience platform for complex, regulated industries) Raises $110M from WndrCo #Automation #AI #SaaS #Enterprise #CustomerExperience
OpenLight (Develops custom photonic application-specific integrated circuits for AI and data centers) Raises $50M from Xora Innovation, New Legacy Group, Mayfield Fund #DataCenters #AI #Semiconductors #Photonics #Optics
Photon (Rebuilding the prescription experience with a full end-to-end platform for informed patient choices) Raises $16M Series A Round from Flare Capital Partners, Notation Capital, Healthier Capital, Evidenced #Healthcare #AI #SaaS #Prescription #Healthtech
pmtbox (An enterprise commerce platform unifying payments, risk, and data for merchants) Raises $15M Seed Round #Payments #Fintech #Commerce #SaaS #RiskManagement
QumulusAI: Breaking AI& Biggest Barriers. (Provides GPU-powered cloud infrastructure for artificial intelligence applications) Raises $45M from ATW Partners #Computing #Cloud #AI #Infrastructure #GPU
Rocket Pharmaceuticals (Advances genetic therapies for rare disorders, focusing on cardiovascular gene therapy) Raises $180M #Cardiology #BioTech #RareDisease #GeneTherapy #ClinicalStage
Rogo (AI platform purpose-built for financial services, automating complex workflows) Raises $160M Series D Round from BoxGroup, MANTIS Venture Capital, Kleiner Perkins, J.P. Morgan, Sequoia Capital #Enterprise #Automation #AI #SaaS #FinTech
SHADE (Unified cloud platform for creative teams to access, search, review, and archive media assets) Raises $14M #Cloud #AI #SaaS #Media #Collaboration
Squads (Builds financial infrastructure on Solana, enabling businesses to operate on stablecoin infrastructure) Raises $18M from Collab+Currency, Jump Crypto, Coinbase Ventures, Solana, Electric Capital #Fintech #Blockchain #Stablecoins #Solana #Payments
Techcyte (Provides AI-powered digital diagnostics for anatomic and clinical pathology) Raises $15M #Diagnostics #AI #SaaS #Pathology #Healthcare
Zamp (A vertically integrated sales tax compliance platform offering fully managed services) Raises $30M from aCrew Capital #Compliance #AI #TaxTech #SaaS #Fintech
Funding rounds in United Kingdom
4 funding rounds, total raised $25M
Addenbrooke & Charitable Trust (ACT) (Funds cutting-edge equipment, research, and comforts for Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie hospitals) Raises $114.5K #Healthcare #Charity #Research #Nonprofit #Medical
Auryx (Builds AI-powered health monitoring platform using sound from consumer devices) Raises $2M Pre-Seed Round from Celero Ventures, PurposeTech #Diagnostics #Audio #AI #Wearables #HealthTech
BioOrbit (Develops in-space manufacturing of cancer therapies for improved drug formulation) Raises $13.35M Seed Round from LocalGlobe, Breega Capital, Seedcamp #Manufacturing #Healthcare #Biotech #SpaceTech #Oncology
StudentCrowd (Provides data and insights for the purpose-built student accommodation sector) Raises $9.46M Series A Round from YFM Equity Partners, Mercia Asset Management #EdTech #Data #SaaS #RealEstate #MarketIntelligence
Funding rounds in India
3 funding rounds, total raised $58M
Ctruh: AI 3D Platform & Editor (Full-stack platform for deploying 3D and XR experiences at scale) Raises $2.5M Seed Round from Anthill Capital Ventures #Platform #AI #3D #XR #SpatialComputing
Data Spectrum (Connects individuals with verified professionals for 1:1 video calls) Raises $211.1K from Subhkam Ventures #EdTech #B2B #Platform #Networking #Expertise
Snabbit (Operates a hyperlocal marketplace for on-demand home services in India) Raises $56M Series D Round from FJ Labs, Nexus Venture Partners at $450M Valuation #India #Hyperlocal #HomeServices #OnDemand #Marketplace
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