STARY
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersSingapore, Singapore
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
STARY firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- STARY
- Legal name
- Stary.com
- Website
- https://stary.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
STARY industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Reading & Content Platforms
- NAICS
- Book Publishers (513130)
- SIC
- Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- E-book Retail & Reading Platforms (Stores, Apps, Devices) (MPAJAMAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- E-book Subscription & Bundling Services (MPAJAMAB)
Keywords
Where STARY is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Singapore
- HQ country
- Singapore
- HQ region
- Asia
Markets served
STARY business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription Services: Platforms like Starynovel offer subscription services for story lovers. Dreame provides reading services to over 100 million users with premium content access.
- Content Monetization: Writers monetize stories through the Stary Writing platform. Creators earn through various cash bonuses covering signing new stories, completing stories, and frequently publishing new chapters.
- Short Drama Streaming: DreameShort provides mini-drama series streaming with maximum entertainment in minimum time, generating revenue through the platform.
- Audiobook Services: Wehear and DreameFM provide audiobook services with various story genres, monetized through subscriptions or per-content purchases.
- Book Adaptation Revenue: Stories are adapted into physical books, audiobooks, comic books, adventure games, and videos, creating additional revenue streams from intellectual property.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels9 records
STARY product offering
Product offeringCore offering
STARY operates a global portfolio of multilingual digital reading, writing, audiobook, and short-drama platforms serving more than 100 million readers across 200+ countries. Its flagship apps include Dreame (romance fiction), Starynovel (subscription stories), Wehear and DreameFM (audiobooks), DreameShort (mini-dramas), StaryWriting (creator publishing), and language-localized apps such as Innovel, Sueñovela, Yugto, and PortReader.
Product overview
Stary is an entertainment company of storytelling that operates a multi-platform portfolio of reading and writing services. The company provides multilingual reading platforms (Dreame, Starynovel, Ringdom, Innovel, Sueñovela, Yugto, PortReader) along with audio content platforms (Wehear, DreameFM) and short drama streaming (DreameShort). The core writing platform, StaryWriting, serves as a one-stop solution for writers to create, publish, market, and adapt their stories into various media formats. The company covers over 200 countries and regions with localization services in English, Arabic, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Filipino, Bahasa Indonesia, Vietnamese, and other languages.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Dreame: Young, fun, and bubbly online romance fiction platform with various genres including Romance, Paranormal, and Fantasy. Provides reading service for more than 100 million users in over 200 countries and regions.
- Starynovel
- DreameShort
- Wehear
- Dreame FM
- Stary Writing
- Ringdom
- Innovel
- Sueñovela
- Yugto
- PortReader
- Slash
Products and services
- Dreame Online romance fiction reading platform featuring Romance, Paranormal, and Fantasy genres; serves 100M+ users across 200+ countries and is ranked #1 in app stores in North America and Southeast Asia.
- Starynovel Subscription-based story reading platform offering a magical and dreamy world for story lovers.
- DreameShort Next-generation mini-drama streaming platform delivering maximum entertainment in minimum time through short-form video content adapted from STARY's stories.
- Wehear Audiobook platform featuring stories across Romance, werewolf, adventure, horror, and paranormal genres.
- DreameFM Audiobook platform allowing users to enjoy audiobooks anytime and anywhere.
- StaryWriting One-stop writing platform combining writing, publishing, marketing, and book adaptation; offers cash bonuses, signing bonuses, completion bonuses, free writing courses, and writing contests.
- Ringdom Online reading platform dedicated to adventure fiction, featuring Fantasy, Game, Apocalypse, Paranormal Urban, Isekai, System, and Cultivation genres.
- Innovel Indonesian-language reading platform providing high-quality Indonesian fiction.
- Sueñovela Spanish-language reading platform (pocket library) featuring Romance, Suspense, and Fantasy genres.
- Yugto Filipino-language reading platform featuring novels from prolific Filipino authors and bestsellers from authors worldwide.
- PortReader Portuguese-language reading platform dedicated to Portuguese fiction lovers featuring romances and parallel worlds.
- Slash World's first LGBT+ reading platform launched by STARY.
Companies that use STARY
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
STARY technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability3 records
Feature4 records
STARY partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- DreameShort CollaboratorscoreStary ventured into the short drama market by launching DreameShort app in partnership with collaborators, creating a new entertainment format for story content.
- DreameFM PartnerscoreStary launched DreameFM app in collaboration with partners to enter the audiobook market, expanding content format offerings.
- Wehear PartnerscoreStary entered the audiobook market launching Wehear app in collaboration with partners, providing audible content with various story genres.
- World-Renowned Publishers (Undisclosed)coreIn January 2019, Stary expanded its partnerships to include more than 20 world-renowned publishers, significantly building its content library and industry credibility.
- World-Renowned Publishers (Undisclosed)coreIn December 2018, Stary forged a partnership with a world-renowned publisher when Dreame officially launched. This partnership was foundational to establishing credibility and content quality for the platform.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves3 records
Expansion highlights4 records
STARY competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Royal Road: Web-based platform for serialized fantasy, adventure, and LitRPG fiction. Comparable in UGC fantasy/adventure focus, though primarily web rather than app-native.
- Wattpad: Serialized fiction and user-generated story platform owned by Naver. Most direct comparable given overlapping reader/creator model, multi-language reach, and content adaptation pipeline (Wattpad WEBTOON adaptations).
- Radish Fiction: Mobile serialized fiction app with episode-based monetization and romance focus. Direct comparable in mobile-first romance reading and episode gating model.
- Tapas Media: Platform for serialized web novels, comics, and multimedia storytelling with a creator monetization program. Comparable in mobile-first UGC storytelling and cross-format adaptation (comics to novels).
- Webnovel (Yuewen / China Literature): Tencent-owned web novel platform with paid serialized fiction, mobile-first reading, and IP adaptation into dramas/games. Direct competitor in serialized fiction with global multilingual ambitions.
- GoodNovel: Mobile reading app focused on translated romance and fantasy web novels. Closely comparable in genre mix, creator monetization, and English-language reader targeting.
Regional players
- Kakao Page: Korean web novel and webtoon platform with strong IP-to-drama adaptation pipeline. Comparable in serialized fiction monetization and content adaptation, though primary geography is Korea.
Broad incumbents
- Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing: Self-publishing platform for e-books and paperbacks with global reach. Comparable as a writer self-publishing channel but vastly broader scale and integrated with Amazon's retail/Kindle ecosystem.
- Audible (Amazon): Largest audiobook platform globally. Comparable as an audio content distribution channel where Stary's Wehear and DreameFM compete for listener attention and creator audiobook deals.
Emerging players
- ReelShort: Fast-growing mini-drama / short-form vertical video platform. Direct comparable to DreameShort as a short-drama streaming app competing for the same reader-fan audience and IP adaptation economics.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
STARY social profiles
Digital presenceSTARY financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
STARY leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
STARY subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries12 records
STARY funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
STARY M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about STARY
What does STARY do?
STARY operates a global portfolio of multilingual digital reading, writing, audiobook, and short-drama platforms serving more than 100 million readers across 200+ countries. Its flagship apps include Dreame (romance fiction), Starynovel (subscription stories), Wehear and DreameFM (audiobooks), DreameShort (mini-dramas), StaryWriting (creator publishing), and language-localized apps such as Innovel, Sueñovela, Yugto, and PortReader.
Is STARY a public or private company?
STARY is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was STARY founded?
STARY was founded in 2018. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is STARY based?
STARY is headquartered in Singapore, Singapore, in the Asia region.
How does STARY make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Subscription Services are the primary driver. The others are content Monetization, short Drama Streaming, audiobook Services and book Adaptation Revenue.
Who are STARY's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Royal Road, Wattpad, Radish Fiction, Tapas Media, Webnovel (Yuewen / China Literature) and GoodNovel. Kakao Page is listed as a regional player. Broad incumbents are Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and Audible (Amazon). ReelShort is listed as an emerging player.
Does STARY have an API?
No public API is recorded for STARY.
What industry is STARY in?
STARY's product category is Digital Reading & Content Platforms. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAMAA, E-book Retail & Reading Platforms (Stores, Apps, Devices), with a secondary code of MPAJAMAB, E-book Subscription & Bundling Services. Its NAICS code is 513130 and its SIC code is 2731.