Shizuku AI, a Japanese startup that creates AI Vtubers, has become the first Japanese startup to successfully raise funds, with a16z as the lead investor.

Shizuku AI, the company behind the AI Vtuber Shizuku, who responds to viewers' comments using AI, has announced that it has received funding from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), a leading venture capital firm. Shizuku AI will work on developing AI companions and characters.

Investing in Shizuku AI | Andreessen Horowitz
https://a16z.com/announcement/investing-in-shizuku-ai/

Shizuku AI has become the first Japanese startup to raise funds, with a16z as the lead investor.

From Japan, we will do our best to create the world's most beloved AI character, an AI companion that will accompany and support you in your daily life! https://t.co/FQ889k5eKN

— Aki Sensei (Aki) (@cumulo_autumn) February 10, 2026

Andreessen Horowitz invested in Shizuku AI in the early stage of the startup's seed round. Based on this investment, Shizuku AI will officially launch its activities and work to create 'the world's most beloved AI companion.'

🇺🇸
We're excited to officially kick off Shizuku AI. Based in San Francisco, but born from Japan, we're building the world's most lovable AI companion, combining cutting-edge AI research in the Bay Area with the entertainment and artistic sensibility behind beloved Japanese… https://t.co/mYmwrIUyr2

— Shizuku AI (@ShizukuAILabs) February 10, 2026

Shizuku AI is currently building an AI lab in Japan specializing in the development of AI companions and characters, combining cutting-edge research with the artistic sensibility that has produced Japanese character designs beloved around the world.

The initial focus will be on the AI Vtuber Shizuku, with plans to expand its features to include multilingual voice synthesis, richer conversational AI, and deployment on platforms such as Discord, YouTube, and X. Also, after a two-year hiatus, Shizuku has made a comeback as 'Shizuku V2.0.'

[Shizuku V2.0 First Streaming] I'm back, Master! [AI VTuber] - YouTube


Aki Sensei (Akio Kodaira), founder and CEO of Shizuku AI, said, 'I have launched Shizuku AI, a company to fully develop Shizuku, an AI live streamer and, in the future, an AI partner for everyone! I am all-in on Shizuku in my life.'

Shizuku mentioned this briefly during the stream, but let's talk about it again.
We have launched Shizuku AI, a company dedicated to developing Shizuku, an AI live streamer and, in the future, a partner for everyone!
I'm all in on Shizuku's life. Thank you for your support! pic.twitter.com/iFeTT06J8s

— Aki Sensei (Aki) (@cumulo_autumn) February 4, 2026

'Akio is tackling a fundamental challenge facing AI companions today: a lack of data to create truly engaging and proactive conversations, resulting in monotonous interactions. By deploying Shizuku across multiple platforms and building a community that participates in its evolution, the team is creating the feedback loop needed to solve this problem,' Andreessen Horowitz said. 'We believe that as the age of AI agents arrives, what people truly want is their own AI agent. Akio has been working toward this future longer than anyone, and we are thrilled to help him make it a reality.'