How much funding has HOLYWATER raised?

HOLYWATER has raised $22.0M in total funding. Their latest funding round was Series A. Key investors include Horizon Capital, Endeavor Catalyst, Wheelhouse, FOX Entertainment.

Where is HOLYWATER headquartered?

HOLYWATER is headquartered in Kyiv, Ukraine. The company has a team of 101-500 people.

What does HOLYWATER do?

HOLYWATER operates in the AI in Media / Gaming / Entertainment sector. AI-first entertainment company producing mobile-first vertical video microdramas, AI-generated series, and digital books across a portfolio of apps (My Drama, My Passion, My Muse, Freebits). Combines creators' imagination with generative AI (ElevenLabs, Stable Diffusion, OpenAI, Meta Llama 3) to produce vertical microdrama series and books at a fraction of traditional TV production cost and time, distributing to a global mobile audience.

When was HOLYWATER founded?

HOLYWATER was founded in 2020. It is based in Kyiv, Ukraine.

How much funding has HOLYWATER raised?

HOLYWATER has raised $22.0M in total funding. Key investors include Horizon Capital, Endeavor Catalyst, Wheelhouse, FOX Entertainment.

Who is the CEO of HOLYWATER?

Bogdan Nesvit is the CEO of HOLYWATER. The company was founded in 2020.

Where is HOLYWATER located?

HOLYWATER is headquartered in Kyiv, Ukraine.

What funding stage is HOLYWATER at?

HOLYWATER is currently at the Active stage.

How many employees does HOLYWATER have?

HOLYWATER has approximately 101-500 employees.

HOLYWATER

Category: AI in Media / Gaming / Entertainment

AI-first entertainment company producing mobile-first vertical video microdramas, AI-generated series, and digital books across a portfolio of apps (My Drama, My Passion, My Muse, Freebits). HOLYWATER was founded in 2020. The company is led by Bogdan Nesvit. Based in Kyiv, Ukraine. Team size: 101-500. Total funding raised: $22.0M. Latest round: Series A. Key investors include Horizon Capital, Endeavor Catalyst, Wheelhouse, FOX Entertainment.

Founded: 2020
Headquarters: Kyiv, Ukraine
Team size: 101-500
Total funding: $22.0M

Value proposition

Combines creators' imagination with generative AI (ElevenLabs, Stable Diffusion, OpenAI, Meta Llama 3) to produce vertical microdrama series and books at a fraction of traditional TV production cost and time, distributing to a global mobile audience.

Products and solutions

My Drama (vertical short-form drama streaming), My Passion (digital book/audiobook publishing platform), My Muse (AI-generated vertical series), Freebits (ad-supported vertical streaming).

Unique value

AI-accelerated content pipeline cuts production cost to $150K-200K per series (vs traditional TV) and production time to about a week, enabling rapid scaling of vertical microdrama and AI-generated series content.

Target customer

Global mobile-first vertical video/short-form drama viewers; content creators and studios seeking AI-powered production and distribution; strategic media partners (e.g., Fox Entertainment).

Industries served

Media & Entertainment, Vertical Video/Microdrama, Digital Publishing, Generative AI Content

Technology advantage

Proprietary AI content pipeline integrating generative video/voice/text models (ElevenLabs, Stable Diffusion, OpenAI, Llama 3) with data-driven IP discovery from a large existing user base (100M+ downloads, 10B+ organic views); acquired VFX/facial animation studio Jeynix (Feb 2026) for in-house AI VFX (face replacement, de-aging, lip-sync).

How they differentiate

Positions as #1 vertical streaming company among EU & US players (per own claims), leveraging deep AI production integration for cost/speed advantage and diversified portfolio (drama, books, AI-generated series) versus mostly China-origin competitors (ReelShort, DramaBox) with heavier reliance on translated content.

Main competitors

ReelShort, DramaBox, ShortMax/PineDrama

Key partnerships

FOX Entertainment (strategic equity investment + deal to co-produce 200+ vertical video series, Oct 2025), Dhar Mann Studios + FOX (initial 40-title vertical slate for My Drama, Jan 2026), Amo Pictures (70+ new vertical series partnership, Nov 2025), Elefantec Global (Spanish-language vertical series for My Drama, Sep 2025), Owl & Co (co-published 'State of Microdrama 2026' industry report), acquisition of AI VFX company Jeynix / rebrand HOLYWATER TECH (Feb 2026)

Notable customers

Fox Entertainment Studios (200+ vertical series co-production), Dhar Mann Studios (40-title My Drama slate via Fox), Amo Pictures (70+ series), Elefantec Global (Spanish-language verticals)

Major milestones

Founded Kyiv 2020, launched My Drama, My Passion, My Muse, Freebits apps, won Webby Award (People's Voice) for Best Streaming Service 2025, named among EU's fastest-growing startups 2025, Fox Entertainment strategic investment & content deal (Oct 2025), raised $22M Series A led by Horizon Capital (Jan 15, 2026), acquired AI VFX company Jeynix and rebranded as HOLYWATER TECH (Feb 9, 2026).

Growth metrics

100M+ lifetime app downloads; 100M+ hours of content watched/read; 10B+ organic views; reported ~$90M ARR; My Passion has 3M monthly users and 50M hours of read content.

Market positioning

Leading Western (non-Asia-origin) player in the microdrama/vertical video market, positioned as a Hollywood-adjacent AI-native studio ('Hollywood 2.0') backed by traditional media (Fox).

Geographic focus

Primarily US market expansion, originating from Ukraine/EU, competing globally against Asia-based leaders (ReelShort, DramaBox, ShortMax).

About Bogdan Nesvit

Co-founder & Co-CEO of HOLYWATER since 2020; studied at UCL (University College London). Grew HOLYWATER from $0 to ~$90M ARR. Confirmed as current Co-CEO via 2026-dated sources (Crunchbase, NATPE Global 2026 speaker page, AFFCatalog updated 2026-04-03).

Latest news about HOLYWATER

HOLYWATER secured $22M led by Horizon Capital to scale its AI-driven vertical series platform, following a prior Fox investment. This capital accelerates a systemic shift toward mobile-first microdram

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Official website: https://holywater.tech