Singapore digital comics-reading platform raises $3.1m in Monk’s Hill-led round

Singapore-based Inkr, an AI-powered platform for reading digital comics, said it has raised US$3.1 million in a pre-series A funding round led by Monk’s Hill Ventures.

Other participants in the round included VI Management and Stuart Levy, founder and CEO of US-based manga-styled comic book publisher Tokyopop, according to a statement.

The Inkr team / Photo credit: Inkr

Founded in 2019, Inkr has a selection of over 800 manga, manhua, webtoon, and graphic novel titles that it offers readers on a subscription or pay-per-chapter basis. The firm uses AI tech and analytics to help publishers and content creators localize their content in just hours, making their works more accessible to a wider audience.

Inkr’s platform currently supports multiple languages on its comics app, including English, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese. It plans to support more languages in the future.

The company said it works with over 70 comic publishers and creators such as Image Comics, Kodansha USA, Kuaikan Manhua, Mr. Blue, and Tokyopop, whose works are distributed to comic readers in over 100 countries and regions via Inkr’s service.

Inkr said it will use the new funds to further beef up its catalog, make new hires, and expand its product development and marketing to grow its user base. The company said the capital raise comes as the monthly active users on its platform grew 200% since its inception in October 2020. It currently has 60,000 monthly active users.