ITOCHU Announces a Capital and Business Alliance with V, Inc., a company that Plans, Produces, and Sells Virtual Items
September 4, 2024
ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that it has entered into a capital and business alliance with V, Inc. (headquartered in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; Kota Fujiwara, Representative Director & CEO; hereinafter “V”), a startup specializing in the planning, production, and sale of virtual items in the metaverse.
The global metaverse user base continues to expand, particularly among younger generations. The popular gaming platform ROBLOX has reached 350 million monthly active users, while ZEPETO, an app enabling users to interacts through avatars in the metaverse, now has a total of 460 million registered users.
Recently, the expansion of the distribution of virtual items, such as purchasable avatars on gaming platforms, social VR platforms and fashion items for avatars to wear, has garnered attention. By 2030, the metaverse market for avatars, fashion items, and luxury products is projected to reach approximately 50 billion euros (approx. 6.5 trillion yen)*1.
V is a startup company with proprietary technology that enables the simultaneous distribution of virtual items across multiple major metaverse platforms, including ROBLOX, ZEPETO, and VRChat, via its unique data infrastructure. Its annual sales are rapidly growing through collaborations with major department stores, VTubers, and anime characters. In addition, V operates a community of over 100,000 users, catering to newcomers in gaming and VR through platforms like Discord. The company is actively working to foster avirtual fashion culture in the metaverse.
In April 2020, ITOCHU invested in ANYCOLOR, Inc., supporting the growth of the VTuber industry. In September 2021, ITOCHU launched the license business of anime characters in Asia through the establishment of Rights & Brands Asia Ltd. ITOCHU also invested in SKY Perfect Pictures Inc. in April 2024, advancing its support of the development of Japanese anime projects abroad. Through this new alliance with V, ITOCHU aims to leverage its extensive network of VTubers, anime characters, fashion brands, and more to support the production and sales of virtual items from a range of intellectual properties with the goal of distributing these items on the global market.
ITOCHU has set its management policy with this theme: The Brand-new Deal - Profit Opportunities Are Shifting Downstream. Through this partnership, ITOCHU will continue to gain knowledge and expertise in the metaverse domain to provide new products and services that meet the diverse needs of customers in the core consumer-related sector. ITOCHU will also support the further global development of Japan's proud intellectual property.
- *1See Luxury in the Metaverse , EUROPE INSIGHT, Research, Morgan Stanley (November 16, 2021)
V, Inc.
Location | Meguro Center Building 8F, 2-1 Kami-Osaki 3-chome, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo |
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Representative | Kota Fujiwara, Representative Director & CEO |
Established | April 22, 2019 |