HarbourView Equity Leads $85M Investment in Animaj, the AI-Powered Kids and Family Media Company (EXCLUSIVE)

HarbourView Equity Partners is leading a $85-million investment in Animaj, the AI-powered media company specializing in kids & family entertainment.

France’s Bpifrance, which plays a role in bankrolling the French tech and AI ecosystem, has also invested in Animaj.

The London and Paris-based kids’ media company was co-founded by former Google and YouTube’s senior executive Gregory Dray in May 2022, having initially raised €100 million in equity and debt, with major investors including U.S. fund Left Lane Capital, and European VC funds Daphni and X-Ange.  

The banner, whose mandate is to acquire international IPs and turn them into global franchises, has developed its proprietary GenAI production tools and is using data-driven insights, automating animation pipelines through AI. Animaj previously picked up the iconic Spanish show “Pocoyo,” which is best known for its little in blue character voiced by Stephen Fry.

“Animaj is reimagining children’s entertainment for the digital age,” said Sherrese Clarke, HarbourView Equity Partners founder and CEO. “With proven monetization, an experienced team, and a strong pipeline of strategic IP opportunities, they are poised to become a category-defining leader. We’re thrilled to partner with the Animaj team as they scale globally,” Clarke continued.

Sixte de Vauplane, Animaj’s co-founder and CEO, said the banner is “a new kind of media company: data-driven, AI-powered, digital-first but multiplatform by design.”

“We don’t start with a TV show and hope kids will come. We start with where they already are – YouTube, Roblox, TikTok, Spotify – and we build from there,” de Vauplane continued.

Over at Bpifrance, executive director José Gonzalo called Animaj a “pioneering player in the use of AI for audiovisual production.”

“Its co-founders, Sixte de Vauplane and Grégory Dray, bring an innovative approach that places AI at the core of their value proposition, with a strong focus on editorial quality and the goal of creating high-quality, educational kids & family’s content,” he said.

New funding will be used to scale Animaj’s AI-powered flywheel model, which spans YouTube, Roblox, TikTok, Spotify, and FAST channels to modernize under-used IPs.

The investment in Animaj adds to HarbourView’s growing portfolio of media and IP assets, which includes banners such as Mucho Mas Media and Macro. 

The round was led alonsgside Left Lane Capital, Daphni, XANGE, and Marquee. New debt financing was provided by J.P. Morgan and Bootstrap Europe. Arduina Partners & Rotschild have been advisors of the transaction.

Arduina Partners M&A merchant bank was founded by Dominique Delport (former senior exec at Havas, Vivendi, Vice Media). 

“We know Animaj from their inception and have been amazed how they have executed their ambitious vision and how they have built a unique AI x IP model. With the backing of Harbourview & BPI France, they will keep growing as one of the world leading kids content platform and YouTube Kids Top3 destination,” said Delport.