Cover Corporation Organization and Operations

A cover corporation is a type of entity that provides liability protection for its members, allowing them to participate in business ventures without exposing their personal assets to potential losses.

Cover corporations are often used in industries such as construction, real estate, and finance, where the risk of lawsuits and financial losses is high.

The key benefit of a cover corporation is that it separates the personal and business assets of its members, providing a layer of protection against lawsuits and financial obligations.

This separation of assets is achieved through the creation of a separate business entity, which owns and operates the business, rather than the individual members.

On a similar theme: Taxes on Sale of Business S Corp

Cover Corp was established on June 13, marking the beginning of the company's journey.

The exact date of establishment is June 13, a significant milestone in the company's history.

Cover Corp's early days laid the foundation for what would become a successful corporation.

Cover Corporation, the parent company of Hololive Production, has a significant presence in the corporate VTuber market. By 2022, it dominated the market alongside Nijisanji, another VTuber agency.

Cover has secured substantial funding to support its operations, including three major funding rounds: a seed funding of 30 million yen (US$280,000) in August 2017, a Series A round of 200 million yen (US$1.9 million) in June 2018, and a funding round of 700 million yen (US$6.6 million) in May 2020.

Hololive streamers work full-time or as a side job, and their channels have been extremely successful. The all-time top Super Chat earners in history are channels run by Hololive talents, including Uruha Rushia, Kiryu Coco, Usada Pekora, and Houshou Marine.

As of September 2020, Hololive channels had over 10 million combined subscribers on YouTube and 10 million additional subscribers on Chinese platform Bilibili. By November 2021, the agency had accumulated over 50 million subscribers across its 80+ channels on YouTube.

If this caught your attention, see: Merger of Sprint Corporation and T-Mobile US

Here's a breakdown of Hololive's funding rounds:

Hololive's primary audience are mostly males in their mid-teens to mid-thirties, with Japanese fans being mostly interested in video games and overseas viewers being more likely to be anime fans.

Cover Corporation has a well-structured organization with a clear hierarchy. The company is led by Motoaki Tanigo, who serves as the President and CEO.

The executive team consists of several key members, including Ikko Fukuda as Director and CTO, Shuhei Ueda as Director, Yosuke Kaneko as CFO, Takashi Kato as Senior Vice President, Daisuke Maeda as Senior Vice President, and Shigeki Hayashi as Senior Vice President.

Here's a brief overview of the executive team's domains of supervision:

Cover Corporation's internal departments are also well-organized, with a total of 8 departments in charge of various aspects of content production and promotion for Hololive Production.

The executives at Cover Corp. are a talented and experienced team. They bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the table.

Motoaki Tanigo serves as the President and CEO, having previously founded Cover Corp. in 2016 and worked on various self-founded startups, including YAGOO.

Ikko Fukuda is the Director and CTO, overseeing the Metaverse Area and Technology Division. He has a background in technology, having worked at Sony Corporation in 2005 and as CTO at Agile Media Network Inc. in 2008.

Shuhei Ueda is a Director, responsible for Media Mix and Licensing/Collaboration. He has a strong background in the gaming industry, having founded Gamepot Inc. in 2001 and worked as a representative director of Japanese subsidiary of AfreecaTV Co., Ltd.

Yosuke Kaneko is the CFO, supervising the Corporate Shared Function, Corporate Planning Department, and Overseas Business Development Department. He joined Cover Corp. in 2021 as General Manager of the Corporate Planning Office.

Takashi Kato is a Senior Vice President, overseeing Administration, General Affairs, Legal Affairs and Intellectual Property, and Crisis Management. He has a background in accounting, having worked as a certified public accountant at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

Daisuke Maeda is a Senior Vice President, responsible for Product Planning and Commerce. He has a diverse background, having worked at various companies, including Sunitomo Corporation and RAKSUL.

Shigeki Hayashi is a Senior Vice President, overseeing VTuber Production. He joined Cover Corp. in 2022 as the head of the Creative Production Department, bringing experience from his previous role as Art Director and General Producer at Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd and COLOPL, Inc.

If this caught your attention, see: Carpenter Technology Corporation

Hololive Production has a well-structured organization, and one key aspect of that is its internal departments. Cover, the company behind Hololive, has 8 internal departments in charge of various aspects of content production and promotion.

The largest department is in charge of live streaming talents under Hololive Production and its branches, making up 33% of the total employee count with over 300 personnel.

Cover Corporation has had a few different office spaces over the years. The first office was a shared space in Shibuya, Tokyo, which predates the founding of Cover Corp itself.

This shared office was used by Cover's co-founder and CEO, Motoaki Tanigo, and the company's CTO, Ikko Fukuda. The office had an open plan layout with six desks arranged in a 3x2 configuration near the windows.

The earliest footage of this office was uploaded by Tanigo in April 2016, and it's not known when Cover moved out of this space. In the footage, Tanigo can be seen sitting at the middle desk facing the window, with Fukuda sitting on his left in the April footage and on his right in the June footage.

Readers also liked: Space Vector Corporation

Cover's first independent office was located in Chuo-ku, Tokyo, and they officially moved their headquarters there in June 2018. This office was the basis for The Office in Holo no Graffiti.

The Shinkawa Office was followed by the Sotakanda Office, which is currently Cover's office after they moved their HQ after their IPO.

COVER Corporation has invested in the Rice Capital Fund I, LP, a venture capital fund led by Taro Fukuyama. This investment is valued at up to a million dollars.

COVER Corporation believes this investment will benefit them in various ways, such as creating a network with promising startups in Japan and North America.

The management company leading hololive production, COVER Corporation's subsidiary, is set to benefit from this investment. They hope to gain valuable connections with startups in the region.

Taro Fukuyama, the representative of Rice Capital Fund I, LP, has a strong background in investing. He previously founded the enterprise employee benefit startup Fond in 2011 and sold it to Edenred in 2023.

Consider reading: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

Other notable investors who have invested in the fund include Y Combinator's Paul Graham and SaaStr's Jason Lemkin.

Here's a list of some of the other investors who have joined Rice Capital Fund I, LP:

This is COVER Corporation's first instance of investing in a venture capital fund since its listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2023.

COVER's studio is a major project, the result of their successful 2nd funding round.

The studio is one of the biggest of its kind in Japan, a testament to COVER's growing influence in the industry.

Costing several billion yen, the studio is a significant investment for the company, but one that promises to yield great returns.