HOLYWATER, an entertainment technology company behind the vertical-series app My Drama and a suite of AI-enabled content products, has closed a $22 million financing round as it pushes to build what it describes as a mobile-first “Netflix” for vertical video in the U.S. and other Western markets.
The round was led by Horizon Capital, with strategic participation from U.S. investors including Endeavor Catalyst and Wheelhouse. HOLYWATER said the transaction is the largest confirmed single funding round in the emerging microdrama sector outside of Asia, and positions the company to accelerate product development, expand its IP incubation and distribution engine, and broaden its AI-driven content ecosystem into adjacent formats such as AI-enabled comics and anime.
HOLYWATER’s offering spans multiple consumer content platforms. My Drama focuses on short, studio-produced vertical series optimized for mobile viewing; My Passion is positioned as a digital book publishing platform; and My Muse centers on vertical series produced with support from generative AI. The company also operates Freebits, an ad-supported vertical streaming service that offers premium content at no cost to viewers. HOLYWATER said its platforms collectively reach more than 85 million users.
The company is also leaning on recent external recognition to underscore momentum. HOLYWATER said it was included in Sifted’s 2025 list of Europe’s fastest-growing startups, and that My Drama was named “Best Streaming Service” People’s Voice at the 2025 Webby Awards. The company added that My Drama’s revenue roughly doubled in 2025, while My Muse has emerged as a leading product in the AI streaming category.
The financing follows an earlier investment from Fox Entertainment in October 2025. HOLYWATER said Fox is producing a slate of more than 200 original microdramas and vertical series for HOLYWATER’s apps that will roll out over the next two years, with projects spanning collaborations with Hollywood studios, established talent, and emerging creators.
HOLYWATER is pitching microdramas—short, mobile-native narrative content—as a fast-growing, global entertainment category. In the release, the company cited recent industry reporting that microdramas generated an estimated $3 billion in global revenue in 2025 excluding China, with the U.S. identified as the largest market at $1.3 billion. HOLYWATER also pointed to data indicating consumer spending on short-drama apps surged to $700 million in the first quarter of 2025, alongside production economics that are typically far below traditional Hollywood budgets, enabling rapid iteration and higher-volume releases.
With the new capital, HOLYWATER said it plans to deepen investment in its AI-first production and distribution stack, expand into new genres and content categories, and strengthen its ability to incubate IP that can travel across formats and geographies—positioning vertical series not only as short-form entertainment, but as an engine for developing scalable story worlds.
KEY QUOTES:
“This is the largest investment in the microdrama space to date outside of Asia, and it sends a clear message to the industry: short-form, studio-quality storytelling is here to stay. Vertical series are no longer an experiment or an uncertain niche — they are proving to be a scalable, long-term format and AI-powered IP incubation engine for the next generation of global hits across multiple genres, far beyond microdramas. With the support of our partners, we’re pushing the entertainment industry forward as we redefine how stories are discovered and experienced worldwide.”
Bogdan Nesvit and Anatolii Kasianov, Co-Founders and Co-CEOs, HOLYWATER
“We are thrilled to partner with Bogdan, Anatolii and the entire HOLYWATER team. Their innovative approach to content production, combined with a disciplined, data-driven model for user acquisition, has enabled the company to scale rapidly while maintaining strong engagement and retention. In a short period of time, HOLYWATER has built a leading position in the emerging short-form content category, delivering approximately 2x annual revenue growth with a high level of capital efficiency. We look forward to supporting the team as they continue to build a durable, category-defining business.”
Vasile Tofan, Senior Partner, Horizon Capital
“The next generation of entertainment is being built for where and how audiences consume content, and HOLYWATER has created a standout vertical storytelling platform with a clear scalable monetization engine. Wheelhouse has been building our internal AI and creative teams to further explore how these tools can unlock new forms of format development and production across our ecosystem of athletes, entertainers, creators and production companies. We see HOLYWATER as a great fit for our strategy.”
Brent Montgomery, CEO, Wheelhouse
