Lighthouse Studios
Lighthouse Studios is a 2D animation studio that produced story-driven animated content for entertainment clients. Acquired by Genius Group in December 2025, it has been rebranded as Genius Studios to serve as an educational content, podcast, and social media production hub.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersKilkenny, Ireland
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Lighthouse Studios does
Lighthouse Studios is a 2D animation studio founded in 2017 and headquartered in Kilkenny, Ireland, with a production hub in Bali, Indonesia. Pre-acquisition, the studio operated as a B2B animation production services provider, delivering story-driven animated content for external entertainment clients. Its most prominent public deliverable was 'Backyard Sports: Sticky Situation' (January 2026), the franchise's first animated special produced in collaboration with Playground Productions, featuring voice talent including Tiffany Haddish and Arturo Castro and co-financed by Dave & Buster's; the special premiered on YouTube. The studio's revenue model was professional services / project-based, with animation production as the primary offering and educational content creation as a secondary capability.
In December 2025, Genius Group Limited (NYSE:GNS) acquired Lighthouse Studios as part of a strategy to expand its Genius Academy and Genius School educational platforms through AI-powered content creation facilities. The studio was relaunched as Genius Studios in January 2026, repositioning from external entertainment clients to a captive production hub within the Genius Group ecosystem, focused on producing educational content, podcasts, and social media content for Southeast Asian regional expansion. Post-acquisition, the company's go-to-market shifts from sales-led project acquisition with entertainment IP holders to embedded internal production serving a single parent company's platform demand. Leadership includes Clint Eland as Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Lighthouse Studios firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Lighthouse Studios
- Website
- https://lighthousestudios.ie
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Lighthouse Studios is a 2D animation studio that produced story-driven animated content for entertainment clients. Acquired by Genius Group in December 2025, it has been rebranded as Genius Studios to serve as an educational content, podcast, and social media production hub.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Lighthouse Studios industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Animation Production Services
- SIC
- Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Content & Creative Studio for Creators (Concepting/Production) (MPAAAHAD)
Keywords
Where Lighthouse Studios is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Kilkenny
- HQ country
- Ireland
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Lighthouse Studios business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Animation Production Services: Lighthouse Studios generates revenue by providing animation production services to external clients. They collaborated with Playground Productions to produce the Backyard Sports animated special, delivering completed animation work for a fee.
- Educational Content Production: Post-acquisition, Lighthouse Studios (rebranding to Genius Studios) will serve as a production hub for creating educational content, podcasts, and social media content for Genius Group's educational platform.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels2 records
Lighthouse Studios product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lighthouse Studios is a 2D animation studio that produces multi-genre, story-driven animated entertainment. The studio provides animation production services to external clients and partners, including collaborative animated specials such as the Backyard Sports project with Playground Productions. It also operates a production hub in Bali, Indonesia, supporting educational content, podcasts, and social media material creation. Following its December 2025 acquisition by Genius Group Limited, it will relaunch as Genius Studios in January 2026.
Product overview
Lighthouse Studios is a production studio that has been acquired by Genius Group Limited. The company operates as a production hub for creating educational content, podcasts, and social media content. Following the acquisition, the studio is being rebranded as Genius Studios (launching January 2026). The studio also provided animation production services, notably collaborating with Playground Productions on the Backyard Sports animated special 'Sticky Situation.'
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- 2D Animation Production Services Core animation production service offering multi-genre, story-driven 2D animated entertainment for external clients, production partners, and media brands. The service covers the full production pipeline from concept to delivery of animated content.
- Backyard Sports: Sticky Situation An animated special produced by Lighthouse Studios in collaboration with Playground Productions, representing the studio's collaborative IP production work with external partners.
- Educational Content Production Educational content production service to be expanded following the December 2025 acquisition by Genius Group Limited, with the studio rebranding as Genius Studios in January 2026 to produce animated educational content, podcasts, and social media materials for Southeast Asian markets.
Companies that use Lighthouse Studios
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Lighthouse Studios technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Lighthouse Studios partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Genius GroupcoreGenius Group Limited acquired Lighthouse Studios in December 2025 and plans to relaunch it as Genius Studios in January 2026. The facility will serve as a production hub for creating educational content, podcasts, and social media content, supporting Genius Group's regional expansion strategy in Southeast Asia.
- Playground ProductionscoreLighthouse Studios collaborated with Playground Productions to develop the first animated special for the Backyard Sports franchise, titled 'Sticky Situation'. The studio provided animation production services for the project, which premiered on YouTube in January 2026.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Lighthouse Studios competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- BrainPOP: Edtech content producer with animated educational videos for K-12 audiences. Adjacent peer given Lighthouse's pivot into educational content via Genius Group.
Broad incumbents
- Xilam Animation: French animation studio producing original series (Oggy, Dofus) and providing production services. Comparable European-based animation production peer at larger scale.
- WildBrain: Canadian entertainment company managing major kids' IP (Peanuts, Strawberry Shortcake) with in-house animation studio and global distribution. Larger incumbent in children's animation.
- 9 Story Media Group: Toronto-headquartered creator, producer, and distributor of children's content with multiple animation studios (including Brown Bag Films). Broader incumbent offering integrated production + distribution.
Direct peers
- Guru Studio: Toronto-based animation studio producing original kids' content (Pikwik Pack, True and the Rainbow Kingdom) and service work for global brands. Comparable mid-sized animation production services peer.
- Cartoon Saloon: Ireland-based 2D animation studio producing story-driven feature films and series. Direct geographic and craft peer to Lighthouse Studios with similar size and artistic focus.
- Brown Bag Films: Dublin-based children's animation studio (acquired by 9 Story Media) producing CGI and 2D series for global broadcasters. Closely comparable Irish animation services peer.
- Boulder Media: Dublin-based animation studio producing series for Netflix, Hasbro, and other global entertainment clients. Direct peer in Irish 2D/CGI animation production services.
- Jam Filled Entertainment: Canadian animation studio providing 2D production services and co-productions for children's entertainment. Comparable B2B animation services model.
- Animax Designs: US-based studio specializing in educational and explainer animation for edtech and corporate clients. Closely comparable peer on the educational content production side of Lighthouse's business.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Lighthouse Studios social profiles
Digital presenceLighthouse Studios financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Lighthouse Studios leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Lighthouse Studios funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Lighthouse Studios 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 Lighthouse Studios
What does Lighthouse Studios do?
Lighthouse Studios is a 2D animation studio that produces multi-genre, story-driven animated entertainment. The studio provides animation production services to external clients and partners, including collaborative animated specials such as the Backyard Sports project with Playground Productions. It also operates a production hub in Bali, Indonesia, supporting educational content, podcasts, and social media material creation. Following its December 2025 acquisition by Genius Group Limited, it will relaunch as Genius Studios in January 2026.
Is Lighthouse Studios a public or private company?
Lighthouse Studios is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was Lighthouse Studios founded?
Lighthouse Studios was founded in 2017. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Lighthouse Studios based?
Lighthouse Studios is headquartered in Kilkenny, Ireland, in the Europe region.
How does Lighthouse Studios make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Animation Production Services are the primary driver. The others are educational Content Production.
Who are Lighthouse Studios's main competitors?
BrainPOP is listed as an others. Broad incumbents are Xilam Animation, WildBrain and 9 Story Media Group. Direct peers are Guru Studio, Cartoon Saloon, Brown Bag Films, Boulder Media, Jam Filled Entertainment and Animax Designs.
Does Lighthouse Studios have an API?
No public API is recorded for Lighthouse Studios.
What industry is Lighthouse Studios in?
Lighthouse Studios's product category is Animation Production Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAAAHAD, Content & Creative Studio for Creators (Concepting/Production). Its SIC code is 7812.