About KADOKAWA
KADOKAWA is a publicly listed company based in Chiyoda (Japan) founded in 1945, and was acquired by Sony in December 2024. It operates as an ebook library reading platform. The company has 6,970 employees. KADOKAWA has completed 5 acquisitions, including Acquire, Anime News Network and First Page Pro. Its chief executive is Masaki Matsubara. Its website kadokawa.co.jp draws about 4.7 million monthly visits. Its focus areas include Book Tech, Book Reading, Apps and Multi Genres. Its competitors include Scribd, VoyceMe, OverDrive, Glose and Youscribe and 4 more; 7 of its 9 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
KADOKAWA was founded in 1945 in Chiyoda City, Japan, and operates within the digital publishing sector. An ebook library and reading platform is maintained, allowing users to access content across genres such as literature, novels, comics, study reference books, general books, and childrens books. Discovery, purchase, and reading of these ebooks are facilitated through the service, with the domain kadokawa.co.jp serving as the primary online presence.
- Headquarters Chiyoda, Japan
- Employees 6,970
- Stage Public
- SectorsMedia & Entertainment
- Website category Business and Consumer Services · Publishing and Printing
- Phone•••• ••••
- Website kadokawa.co.jp
- Social LinkedIn X
- Acquired by Sony (Dec 2024)
- Legal Name Kadokawa Corporation
Funding Insights of KADOKAWA
- Total Rounds 3
- Investors Count 3
All 3 funding rounds of KADOKAWA with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 2022 | – | Post-IPO | – | – | |
| Oct 2021 | $264M | Post-IPO | – | – | |
| Jun 1995 | – | Private Equity Round | – | – |
3 investors in total: 3 institutional.
Investors in KADOKAWA
KADOKAWA has secured backing from 3 investors, including institutional and venture fund investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Tencent, Sony and Japan Asia Investment.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Private equity platform is operated for investing in growth-oriented companies. | 1981 | jaic-vc.co.jp | Tokyo, Japan | |
Value-added internet, mobile, and telecom services are provided in China. | 1998 | tencent.com | Shenzhen, China | |
Consumer electronics and entertainment products are designed for global markets. | 1946 | sony.com | New York, United States |
Investor details for KADOKAWA
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People of KADOKAWA
1 people are tracked at KADOKAWA (1 in leadership); the tracked headcount is 6,970.
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Masaki Matsubara | CEO & President | Leadership |
Complete people profiles for KADOKAWA
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IPO & Listings of KADOKAWA
KADOKAWA is a publicly listed company on the TSE with ticker symbol 9468 in Japan, operating in the Consumer services sector. As a publicly traded entity, the company provides investors with opportunities to participate in its growth story through equity ownership. The listing enables access to capital markets, enhances corporate visibility, and provides liquidity for shareholders while maintaining transparency through regulatory compliance and regular financial disclosures.
- IPO date03 Oct 2014
- Listed onTSE: 9468
- Listed entityKadokawa Corporation
- Exchange sectorConsumer services
- ISINJP3214350005
- Share price3,749.00 JPY (+0.51% on the day) · 2026-10-14
- Market capitalisation509,321,323,547.00 JPY
- Price to earnings78.0
- EPS (diluted, trailing year)-41.72 JPY
- Dividend yield0.8%
- Volume (last session)303,100
Financials of KADOKAWA
| Year | Revenue | Net income | EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 282.91B JPY | 1.28B JPY | 17.60B JPY |
| 2024 | 277.92B JPY | 7.39B JPY | 24.91B JPY |
| 2023 | 258.11B JPY | 11.38B JPY | 25.37B JPY |
| 2022 | 255.43B JPY | 12.68B JPY | 32.06B JPY |
| 2021 | 221.21B JPY | 14.08B JPY | 24.62B JPY |
Detailed financial statements for KADOKAWA
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Investments & Acquisitions by KADOKAWA
KADOKAWA has strategically engaged in corporate development activities, having acquired 5 companies. Notable acquisitions include Acquire, Anime News Network and First Page Pro.
| Company Name | Description | Domain | Location | Founded | Acquired | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Disability support services and egg production are provided. | warakuya.tochigi.jp | Moka, Japan | 2014 | May 2024 | •••• | |
Indie video game development company based in Japan | acquire.co.jp | Tokyo, Japan | 1994 | Feb 2024 | •••• | |
Publisher of deep mystery cartoon novels, offering special prices for cartoon novels and manga | firstpagepro.com | Bangkok, Thailand | 2016 | Dec 2023 | •••• | |
Anime and manga news is delivered through a digital portal. | animenewsnetwork.com | Montreal, Canada | 1998 | Nov 2022 | •••• | |
Indie video games are developed by FromSoftware in Japan. | fromsoftware.jp | Tokyo, Japan | 1986 | Apr 2014 | •••• |
Complete acquisition details for KADOKAWA
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Timeline of KADOKAWA
10 dated milestones of KADOKAWA across 79 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded KADOKAWA is founded.
- Funding First funding round.
- Acquisition Acquires FromSoftware.
- IPO Lists on the stock exchange (IPO).
- Funding Latest funding round, Post-IPO,.
- Acquisition Acquires Anime News Network.
- Acquisition Acquires First Page Pro.
- Acquisition Acquires Acquire.
- Acquisition Acquires Warakuya.
- Exit Acquired by Sony.
Competitors of KADOKAWA
KADOKAWA has 9 listed competitors in our database, 7 of them funded. They include Scribd, VoyceMe, OverDrive, Glose and Youscribe, among others.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| scribd.com | 2006 | San Francisco, United States | $105.24M | 300 | SaaS-based book reading platform | |
| voyce.me | 2020 | New York, United States | $16.9M | – | Online comic books are delivered in multiple genres. | |
| overdrive.com | 1986 | Cleveland, United States | – | 413 | Digital content distribution is facilitated for libraries and schools by OverDrive. | |
| glose.com | 2014 | Paris, France | $3.41M | – | E-books are read and annotated socially on the Glose platform. | |
| youscribe.com | 2011 | Paris, France | $2.59M | – | Online platform for digital publishing | |
| abjjad.com | 2012 | Amman, Jordan | $1.16M | – | Arabic social network for book readers, writers, and bloggers | |
| bookmate.com | 2010 | Moscow, Russia | $3M | – | Subscription-based e-book reading and digital library services are offered. | |
| legimi.com | 2009 | Opole, Poland | – | – | Ebooks and magazines are accessed via subscription-based cloud platform. | |
| novelpia.com | 2020 | Seoul, South Korea | $6.32M | – | Comic books are provided for online reading in diverse categories. |
Detailed competitors of KADOKAWA
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Web traffic of KADOKAWA
The website of KADOKAWA (kadokawa.co.jp) receives about 4.7M visits a month and ranks #12,032 among all websites worldwide, #318 in Publishing and Printing.
- Monthly visits4.7M
▼ 14.3% vs previous month
- Unique visitors3.2M
per month
- Global rank#12,032
among all websites
- Category rank#318
Business and Consumer Services · Publishing and Printing
- Bounce rate59%
- Pages per visit2.3
- Average visit1 min 34 sec
- DevicesDesktop 19% · Mobile 81%
Websites whose visitors overlap most with KADOKAWA. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
shinchosha.co.jp | shinchosha.co.jp | 100% | – | #79,761 | – |
iwanami.co.jp | iwanami.co.jp | 97% | – | #101,021 | – |
| ichijinsha.co.jp | 85% | 125.8K | #320,640 | View details | |
bunshun.co.jp | bunshun.co.jp | 80% | – | #547,970 | – |
chuko.co.jp | chuko.co.jp | 80% | – | #257,742 | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 40 similar websites and full traffic analytics for KADOKAWA
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Top companies in Book & Digital Reading Platforms
10 companies that operate in the same segment as KADOKAWA (Book & Digital Reading Platforms), ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
An audio streaming platform for series and stories is operated. | 2018 | Bengaluru, Karnataka, India | USD 196.66 M | USD 30.62 M | 1,044 | |
Platform connecting readers and writers, offering digital literature in multiple languages | 2014 | Bengaluru, Karnataka, India | USD 92.65 M | USD 6.84 M | 162 | |
Podcasts and audiobooks are provided through a creator-focused audio platform. | 2019 | Copenhagen, Denmark | USD 223.91 M | USD 21.59 M | 84 | |
Digital audiobooks are produced and streamed via a SaaS platform. | 1995 | Newark, New Jersey, United States | USD 6 M | – | – | |
App-based subscription platform for e-books | 2005 | Stockholm, Sweden | – | USD 436.49 M | – | |
Rental books and homework help are provided to university students. | 2005 | Santa Clara, California, United States | USD 205.99 M | USD 376.91 M | 1,270 | |
SaaS-based book reading platform | 2006 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 105.24 M | – | – | |
Audiobooks and stories in multiple Indian languages are provided. | 2018 | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India | USD 122.32 M | USD 12.17 M | 310 | |
Audio-based learning solutions with stories and music are provided. | 2015 | London, England, United Kingdom | USD 59.42 M | – | 98 | |
Provider of digital comics, novels, and ebooks | 2009 | Seoul, South Korea | USD 28 M | – | – |
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Related news about Kadokawa
Complete news archive for KADOKAWA
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Frequently Asked Questions about KADOKAWA
KADOKAWA was founded in 1945 and raised its 1st funding round 50 years after it was founded.
KADOKAWA is headquartered in Chiyoda, Japan. It is registered at Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.
Masaki Matsubara is the current CEO of KADOKAWA.
KADOKAWA has 6,970 employees.
Annual revenue of KADOKAWA is $1.77B as on Mar 31, 2026.
KADOKAWA was founded in 1945 in Chiyoda City, Japan, and operates within the digital publishing sector. An ebook library and reading platform is maintained, allowing users to access content across genres such as literature, novels, comics, study reference books, general books, and childrens books. Discovery, purchase, and reading of these ebooks are facilitated through the service, with the domain kadokawa.co.jp serving as the primary online presence.
Yes, KADOKAWA is publicly traded on TSE under the ticker symbol 9468.
KADOKAWA has made 5 acquisitions, including Acquire, Anime News Network, and First Page Pro.
KADOKAWA has 3 investors. Key investors include Tencent, Sony, and Japan Asia Investment.
Yes. KADOKAWA was acquired by Sony in December 2024.
The website of KADOKAWA receives about 4.7 million visits a month and ranks #12,032 among all websites worldwide.