SAMANSA Inc., a short film streaming service, raises a total of ¥740 million in Series A funding.
SAMANSA Inc. Press Release: September 17, 2025 Short film streaming service “SAMANSA” raises a total of 740 million yen in Series A funding Cumulative funding reaches
approximately 1.1 billion yen, accelerating global expansion and original IP business SAMANSA Inc. (Headquarters: Tokyo; CEO: Yuichi Iwanaga; Co-CEO: Takayuki Toyama), operator of the short film streaming service “SAMANSA,” has raised a total of 740 million yen through a third-party allotment of new shares from existing investors (XTech Ventures Inc., Ceres Inc., GENDA Capital, etc.) and new investors, with DG Daiwa Ventures as the lead investor, as well as debt financing from Hokkoku Bank. This brings the total amount raised to approximately 1.1 billion yen. New investors in this round include EX Innovation Fund, Cygames Capital, Apollo Capital, Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc., Hakuhodo DY ONE Inc., and Gogin Capital. Image
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entertainment IP with global potential, we will build a new film infrastructure to take on the world through diverse co-creation. Investor Comments DG Daiwa Ventures Managing Director Yamato Watanabe Principal Yuma Nishikawa “We were the lead investor in this Series A round. DGDV has supported the global expansion of Japanese startups by strategically partnering with overseas venture capital firms and business companies in order to create many startups from Japan that will be active on the world stage. Armed with a strong creator network and keen discerning eye, I am confident that SAMANSA is a team capable of delivering content that will be loved not only in Japan but around the world. Their track record of steadily gaining traction while overcoming obstacles is rare among Japanese content startups. As a shareholder, we will strongly support and accompany SAMANSA as they continue to spread a new style of movie experience around the world. ” EX Innovation Fund (TV Asahi Holdings is the LP, managed by Simplex Capital Investment) Principal: Keigo Mizutani “No matter how diverse the formats and viewing methods of video content become, I believe the connections we have built with creators will continue to retain their value. I hope SAMANSA will grow into an entity that unearths the talent and capabilities of video creators around the world and brings them to the world. We will support them in many ways, leveraging the knowledge we have cultivated as an independent asset management company, including our collaboration with TV Asahi HD, which promotes the production of diverse video content.” Takashi Fujimoto, Associate Partner, XTech Ventures Inc. “Based on SAMANSA’s growing user base and track record of hit content, we believe that short films are becoming recognized and established as a new content format by users. Following on from our previous round, we decided to invest in this round to capitalize on the potential hidden within. As a shareholder, we will continue to fully support SAMANSA as they take on the next challenge of global expansion and content production.” Taishi Matsuyama, Investlead, Apollo Capital Co., Ltd. “Following Ceres’ previous investment, we are truly pleased to be able to invest in SAMANSA again. SAMANSA’s short films not only represent an innovative format that meets increasingly shorter viewing habits, but also leverage their affinity with social media to spread globally, creating new opportunities to connect users with the films they create. Through this investment, we strongly hope that SAMANSA, as a symbol of the creator economy, will revolutionize the film industry and pave the way for the next generation of entertainment. GENDA Capital Investment Manager Daido Fuchie “We are very pleased to be able to invest in SAMANSA again, following our previous round. In addition to their steady growth in Japan, we see great potential in their commitment to expanding overseas, including into the United States. As we are also working on expanding overseas, we deeply empathize with their challenge and would like to wholeheartedly support them as a partner with the same aspirations. We will continue to support SAMANSA’s efforts to deliver new experiences to audiences around the world through short films.” BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc., Innovation Department, 021 Fund, Natsuhiro Maruyama “We have decided to support SAMANSA because of their proven track record and their passion for creating short films that fit the modern era. By leveraging the strengths and assets of the Bandai Namco Group and supporting SAMANSA’s endeavors, we look forward to contributing to the further spread of new video experiences and the creation of works that will captivate many fans. We will do our utmost to ensure that this investment leads to further growth and development for both
companies.” Hakuhodo DY ONE Co., Ltd. Strategic Investment Department, Hotaka Hagiwara “In an age of quantity where short video content is constantly being produced, consumed, and then disappears, we believe that SAMANSA, a short film VOD service that relentlessly pursues quality, is an extremely valuable presence.” “The reason they are able to continue to carefully deliver works that move people’s hearts is because of the deep knowledge of short films and keen aesthetic sense of the SAMANSA team, led by CEOs Iwanaga and Toyama, and we are confident that their value will be recognized both domestically and internationally. With this investment as an opportunity, we will make the most of our assets and support SAMANSA’s business growth as a partner.” ” Gogin Capital Co., Ltd. President and CEO Shuichi Ida “Amidst the rapidly growing demand for short videos these days, our company was one of the first to focus on short films, establishing a new and unprecedented position. SAMANSA was born from this, and offers a selection of memorable films that move viewers in just a few minutes and make them want to share them with others. Through this investment, we look forward to further expanding our selection and accelerating our overseas expansion, and to our future as a Japanese movie streaming service that takes flight around the world.” SAMANSA comments SAMANSA Representative Director Yuichi Iwanaga “If movie admission fees were no longer uniform and time slots no longer existed, films would become more diverse and liberalized. There would be short, medium-length, and feature-length films. There would be no shortage of projects, and there would be room for a wide variety of ambitious and ambitious works. The film world would become more vibrant than ever.” These are words from Shinobu Hashimoto, a screenwriter who has worked with director Akira Kurosawa on numerous masterpieces. For a long time, movies were synonymous with
feature-length films, but with the spread of online video and smartphones, movies are entering a new era where they are no longer bound by length or format. As a Japanese film entertainment company, SAMANSA is committed to liberalizing film on a global scale and expanding its limitless possibilities. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our shareholders and all of our loyal SAMANSA users for this funding. Bringing movies closer to you, more freely. We will continue to deliver new discoveries to the world. SAMANSA Co-Representative Takayuki Toyama We are pleased that this capital increase will enable us to further expand the possibilities of short films. Now, four years after our founding, we realize every day that the market for short films, which has previously been
underrepresented, is steadily expanding through SAMANSA. Going forward, we will deliver an unprecedented new viewing experience to movie fans and opportunities for creators to take on the world stage in an even larger way. First, we will use this capital increase to further expand the production of original content that can only be seen on SAMANSA, together with creators from around the world. Furthermore, we will focus on delivering works in a variety of formats, not just through streaming but also considering theatrical release. SAMANSA Business Overview
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/82116/51/82116-51-38e84ebbb715986b3e2a526a125851dc-1516×628.png SAMANSA is a streaming service specializing in short films. For a monthly fee of ¥490, we offer carefully selected titles from around the world, currently streaming over 600 short films (as of September 2025). With screening times of 30 minutes or less, you can enjoy a movie experience tailored to various daily situations, such as your commute or spare time. In addition, by directly licensing with creators around the world, we deliver a diverse range of titles not available on other domestic VOD services. We aim to create a new culture where movies can be enjoyed more freely and easily. Name: Short film streaming service “SAMANSA” Browser app site:
https://samansa.com/ iOS version (App Store):
https://apps.apple.com/jp/app/samansa/id1600425602 Android version (Google Play): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.samansa Company Profile Company Name: SAMANSA Inc. Headquarters: 603 Okazaki Building, 2-14-13 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Representative Director: Yuichi Iwanaga Co-Representative: Takayuki Toyama Established: April 2021 Business: Operation of the short film distribution service “SAMANSA” Corporate website: https://about.samansa.com/ Service site URL: https://lp.samansa.com YouTube:
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