June 11, 2021

KDDI Corporation

KDDI invested in and signed a joint production agreement with WHYNOT Media Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Seoul, South Korea; CEO: Lee Min-seok; hereinafter, "WHYNOT Media"), a South Korean production company focusing on short form dramas [1], through the KDDI Open Innovation Fund III (operated by Global Brain Corporation; hereinafter "KOIF III"), which aims to co-create new businesses with promising startup companies.

Under the slogan of a "content franchise for the new generation," WHYNOT Media produces various types of short-form content targeting the MZ Generation [2] on YouTube and other OTT platforms. With major works such as "Secret Crushes," which was the first web drama to attract 100 million views, and "Best Mistake," the company possesses a catalog of over 1,260 pieces of content that have recorded roughly 1.4 billion cumulative views.

Through this investment, KDDI will continue to study joint content production for its video streaming platform and support the expansion of WHYNOT Media into Japan while simultaneously aiming to provide new video viewing experiences in the 5G era.

As "the company that customers feel closest to," KDDI will continue to promote business co-creation through investment in promising startup companies, and create new business models together with customers and partners.

(Reference)

• ■About WHYNOT Media

  • (1)

    Company name: WHYNOT Media Co., Ltd.

  • (2)

    Headquarters: Seoul, South Korea

  • (3)

    Founded: 2016

  • (4)

    Business activities: Production of short-form dramas targeting the MZ generation

  • (5)

    CEO: LEE MIN-SEOK
    URL: http://whynot.video/

• ■About KDDI Open Innovation Fund

  KDDI Open Innovation Fund is a corporate venture fund that supports a broad range of venture companies. The currently active KDDI Open Innovation Fund III focuses on the areas of AI, IoT, big data, and Fintech with a total operating fund of 20 billion yen.

• [1]

  Short-form drama: drama with a length of about 10 minutes per episode.

• [2]

  MZ Generation: Millennial generation (born between 1981 and 1995) and Generation Z (born between 1996 and 2012).

• "YouTube" is a trademark or registered trademark of Google LLC.
• The names of other companies and products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.