Sony Group Corporation (hereafter referred to as Sony), Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. (hereafter referred to as BNHD), and Gaudiy Inc. (hereafter referred to as Gaudiy) have begun a strategic partnership in the fields of entertainment and technology. To promote this partnership, Sony and BNHD jointly invest ten billion yen in Gaudiy.

The Background Behind This Collaboration and Investment

As the global entertainment content industry continues to grow in strength, the importance of entertainment in Japan is rising even further. The international revenue of Japan’s content industry has reached a scale that now rivals major export industries such as semiconductors, iron, and steel. *1 Also, of the global character IP (intellectual property) media mix revenue rankings, 10 out of the top 25 spots are held by Japanese IP. *2 Japan’s entertainment content is recognized internationally.

Additionally, due to advancements in technology, the entertainment content industry has gained even stronger influence and it’s expected that entertainment content will extend to other industries. Also, due to the rise of social media and user generated content, the relationship between IP and its fans doesn’t end at “producer” and “consumer.” Instead, fans themselves participate, support, and jointly develop the IP.

Each company in this partnership is devoted to the global development of Japanese IP and the creation of new experiences and ecosystems which leverage their technologies and strengths.

Gaudiy has heralded the vision of “Fan Nations” and created Gaudiy Fanlink, a community platform, offered to major entertainment companies, where fans can interact with their favorite IP. By using the latest technologies, such as blockchain and LLMs, Gaudiy gives fans new experiences. In 2025, Gaudiy acquires MyAnimeList *3, the world’s largest anime and manga community site with 19.5 million registered users, 99% of whom are non-Japanese, thereby strengthening Gaudiy’s connection to global fans.

In 2024, Sony introduced its “Creative Entertainment Vision,” a long-term vision for where we want Sony to be in the future. The Company is committed to the creation and nurturing of attractive IP while deepening engagement with fans by expanding IP beyond boundaries, and maximizing IP value. Along with the development of entertainment, such as games, music, and pictures, Sony also plans, produces, streams, and distributes anime series. In 2021, Sony acquired the anime streaming service Crunchyroll and has delivered Japanese content to anime fans around the world.

BNHD has a Mid-term Plan for the next three years starting in April 2025 that aims to create continuous growth over a medium-to-long-term period on the basis of the group’s Purpose, “Fun for All into the Future,” and its Mid- to Long-term Vision of “Connect with Fans.” By leveraging IP worldviews and providing the optimal products and services in the optimal regions at the optimal times, it will maximize the value of the IP as desired for an “IP axis strategy,” and push the strengths of the global market even further.

Through this strategic partnership, these three companies aim to create a new ecosystem in the entertainment industry by combining their strengths and assets to offer newer and more fun next-generation entertainment experiences to IP fans around the world.