OLM Ventures

What OLM Ventures does

OLM Ventures, Inc. (株式会社オー・エル・エム・ベンチャーズ), founded June 2017, is a Japanese animation production entity within the OLM Group, which operates as a consolidated subsidiary of IMAGICA GROUP Inc. and includes OLM, Inc. (founded 1994, 204 employees) and OLM Digital, Inc. (founded 1997, 138 employees), for a combined workforce of approximately 342 people as of March 2025. Headquartered in Setagaya, Tokyo, the group produces TV anime series, feature films, full-CG productions, and VFX for live-action work, with credits on globally recognized franchises including Pokémon, Dragon Ball DAIMA, The Apothecary Diaries, Beyblade, and Inazuma Eleven. Production capability spans 2D traditional animation, 3D CG, full-CG, and hybrid formats, executed across an international footprint of Japan (HQ, Setagaya), USA (Sprite Animation Studios, Los Angeles), Malaysia (Cyberjaya, established December 2017), and Thailand (Bangkok, established October 2024).

OLM Digital's R&D division has developed a stack of proprietary production tools (collectively branded as OLM OpenTools and released under Apache 2.0), including OLM Smoother v2 (color space-aware anti-aliasing using MLAA), OLM Blur, OLM Color Key, OLM KiraKira, OLM Directional Blur, OLM Toon Dilate, Distance Gradation, and OLM Keylight (~5x faster than standard Nuke Keylight). The ANIMINS project extends this into AI-driven anime production support, covering automatic colorization, line art segmentation, pose estimation, 2D/3D hybrid animation, and generative scene control, with research validated through ACM SIGGRAPH Academy recognition (Ken Anjyo, 2026), Visual Computing 2025 awards, and academic publications.

Revenue is generated through B2B animation production services on a project-commission basis with production committees and entertainment clients, supplemented by IP licensing and royalties from produced works (including Pokémon). Distribution flows through domestic TV networks (TV Tokyo, Nippon TV, TV Asahi, Fuji TV, NHK), global streaming partnerships (Netflix for worldwide delivery of titles such as Ikusagami/Last Samurai Standing), and theatrical release in Japan. Notable co-production partnerships include TOHO animation STUDIO (The Apothecary Diaries Season 2) and DONGWOO A&E (Himitsu no AIPPRI). Strategic R&D partnerships include the Japan Science and Technology Agency's JST CRONOS project (September 2025) and NEDO's Post-5G Information and Communication System Infrastructure Enhancement R&D Project (October 2024), positioning the group within Japan's national content-tech and AI policy agenda.

Name

OLM Ventures

Legal name

株式会社オー・エル・エム・ベンチャーズ

Website

https://olm.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

OLM Ventures is a Japanese animation production entity within the OLM Group that produces TV anime series, feature films, CG animation, and VFX for broadcasters, production committees, and streaming platforms. The group combines traditional 2D animation with proprietary AI tooling (ANIMINS) and operates internationally across Japan, USA, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Animation Production Services

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Production (51211), Motion Picture and Video Production (512110)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Anime Production (MPADACAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Animated Feature Film Production (MPADACAH), Animation Services for VFX (Creature/Character, Crowd, Simulation Support) (MPADAHAF)

Keywords

• Animation production services
• CG animation production
• VFX production services
• Anime production studio
• Digital animation tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Setagaya

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Animation Production Services: B2B services producing TV series, feature films, and full CG/VFX content for entertainment clients, production committees, and broadcasters. Revenue generated through project-based commissions.
2. Licensing and IP Royalties: Revenue from intellectual property associated with produced works including Pokémon franchise involvement and other anime properties.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

OLM Ventures provides B2B animation, CG animation, and VFX production services, producing TV series, feature films, and full-CG/hybrid 2D-3D content for entertainment companies, production committees, broadcasters, and streaming platforms. The studio is known for producing the Pokémon franchise and numerous other major anime titles, supported by proprietary OpenTools plugins and the ANIMINS AI production-support technology developed by OLM Group's R&D division.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• TV Anime Series Production

Quantifiable outcome

• OLM Smoother v2 operates 5-10x faster than baseline methods for anti-aliasing in Japanese animation
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability11 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, core and major.

• JST CRONOS Project (Japan Science and Technology Agency)strategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 September 2025JST CRONOS project 'animāre' selected for 'High-fusion tool base technology for anime co-creation environment.' OLM Digital R&D Head of Research Akinobu Maejima serves as principal collaborator.
• NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization)strategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 October 2024OLM Digital proposal for 'Data and Generative AI Utilization Advanced Case Study' accepted under Post-5G Information and Communication System Infrastructure Enhancement R&D Project.
• DONGWOO A&EcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partner for animation projects including Himitsu no AIPRI and related films. Joint production collaboration for TV anime series.
• TOHO animation STUDIOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partner for The Apothecary Diaries 2nd Season under TOHO animation STUDIO × OLM production format.
• ANIMINS Consortium (Multiple Universities)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-institution AI research consortium including Tokyo Science University, Waseda University, NAIST, Chiba University, University of Tokyo, JAIST, and Hosei University collaborating on AI support technology for anime production.
• IMAGICA GROUP Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent company providing group synergies. OLM Digital is part of IMAGICA GROUP. Collaborative R&D through Advanced Research Group (ARG) on visual computing research.
• NetflixmajorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGlobal streaming distribution partner for original anime content including Ikusagami (Last Samurai Standing) for worldwide exclusive streaming.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Toei Animation: Japan's largest publicly traded anime production studio behind Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Digimon. OLM's most direct competitor for major franchise commissions and slot on Japanese broadcasters' schedules.
• Bones (B-side): Producer of My Hero Academia, Fullmetal Alchemist, and other major TV anime. Mid-sized Japanese animation studio with comparable B2B production services to entertainment companies and production committees.
• MAPPA: Studio behind Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan: Final Season, and Chainsaw Man. Competes with OLM for talent, commissions from production committees, and slots on Japanese broadcasters.
• Madhouse: Veteran Japanese animation studio (Death Note, One Punch Man, Frieren). Comparable in scale, business model, and service offerings to OLM, producing for major anime production committees.
• Production I.G: Studio behind Ghost in the Shell and Attack on Titan seasons. B2B anime production house with comparable size and franchise-style production capabilities competing for premium commissions.
• Sunrise / Bandai Namco Filmworks: Producer of the Gundam franchise and various anime series. Direct competitor for major anime commissions and a comparable enterprise-scale Japanese animation studio with strong franchise relationships.
• Polygon Pictures: Japanese CG animation studio (Knights of Sidonia, Ajin) and co-producer of Godzilla trilogy. Direct competitor in the 3D CG and hybrid anime production space where OLM Digital also operates.
• TMS Entertainment: Publicly traded Japanese studio behind Detective Conan and Lupin III. Long-running B2B anime production services comparable in scale and customer mix to OLM.
• A-1 Pictures / CloverWorks: Aniplex/Sony-owned anime studios (Sword Art Online, Your Lie in April, Spy x Family). Compete with OLM for premium commissions from production committees including those involving major IP holders.
• Wit Studio: Japanese anime studio (Spy x Family, Ranking of Kings, Attack on Titan S1–3). Mid-sized B2B animation studio with comparable production-services business model to OLM.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/OLMGROUP
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/olm-digital-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments15 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about OLM Ventures