HOLYWATER TECH
An AI-first entertainment network building vertical video series and personalized books/audiobooks.
Website: https://www.holywater.tech/
Cover Block
PUBLIC
| Company | HOLYWATER TECH |
| Tagline | An AI-first entertainment network building vertical video series and personalized books/audiobooks. |
| Headquarters | Kyiv, Ukraine |
| Founded | 2020 |
| Stage | Series A |
| Business Model | B2C |
| Industry | Media / Entertainment |
| Technology | AI / Machine Learning |
| Geography | Global / Remote-First |
| Growth Profile | Venture Scale |
| Founding Team | Co-Founders (2) |
| Funding Label | $10M+ (total disclosed ~$22,000,000) |
Links
PUBLIC
- Website: https://www.holywater.tech/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/holywater-tech
- App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6444594678
- Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.holywater.mydrama
- Career: https://www.holywater.tech/career
Executive Summary
PUBLIC HOLYWATER TECH is building a vertically integrated, AI-native entertainment network, a bet that the combination of generative content and mobile-first distribution can unlock new economics in serialized storytelling. Founded in Kyiv in 2020 by Bogdan Nesvit and Anatolii Kasianov, the company has rapidly scaled a multi-app ecosystem anchored by My Drama for vertical video series and My Passion for digital books, reaching over 85 million users globally [Businesswire, 2026] [Forbes Technology Council, 2026]. Its wedge is a proprietary content flywheel where popular stories from its book platform are adapted into vertical microdramas, a process increasingly automated by its in-house AI tools like My Muse [Wikipedia, 2026] [HOLYWATER TECH, Dec 2024].
The founding team, operating as co-CEOs, has steered the company to an estimated $90 million in revenue for 2024, a figure that, while company-reported, is supported by a strategic production and investment deal with FOX Entertainment [Kyiv Post, 2026] [Variety, 2026]. This partnership, committing to over 200 vertical titles, provides a significant validation point and a pipeline of premium content. The company's recent $22 million Series A, led by Horizon Capital with participation from Endeavor Catalyst and Wheelhouse, signals institutional backing for its expansion plans [Horizon Capital, 2026] [Crunchbase, 2026].
Over the next 12-18 months, the key metrics to watch are the monetization efficiency of its AI-generated content, which the company projects will constitute 90% of its output within two years, and the user retention dynamics of its newly launched AI Companion features, which aim to deepen engagement within its My Drama app [Forbes, 2025] [TechCrunch, 2024]. The core investment thesis hinges on whether HOLYWATER TECH can systematize Hollywood-grade content production at internet scale and cost, a proposition its early traction and FOX alliance make compelling, if unproven at sustained profitability.
Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Key traction and partnership metrics are confirmed by third-party press, but revenue and some user figures rely on company statements or single-source reports.
Taxonomy Snapshot
| Axis | Classification |
|---|---|
| Stage | Series A |
| Business Model | B2C |
| Industry / Vertical | Media / Entertainment |
| Technology Type | AI / Machine Learning |
| Geography | Global / Remote-First |
| Growth Profile | Venture Scale |
| Founding Team | Co-Founders (2) |
| Funding | $10M+ (total disclosed ~$22,000,000) |
Company Overview
PUBLIC
HOLYWATER TECH was founded in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2020 by Bogdan Nesvit and Anatolii Kasianov [HOLYWATER TECH]. The company's public narrative frames its origin as a bet on merging creator-driven storytelling with emerging AI tools, aiming to build what it calls "Hollywood 2.0" [HOLYWATER TECH]. Its headquarters remain in Kyiv, though the company operates as a remote-first entity with a global audience and a co-CEO, Bogdan Nesvit, based in Los Angeles [LinkedIn, 2026], [Axios, 2026].
The company's trajectory is marked by a series of product launches and a significant strategic partnership. Its ecosystem began with platforms for e-books and audiobooks, later expanding into vertical video series with the launch of My Drama. A key operational milestone was the 2025 acquisition of AI studio Jeynix, founded by Yevhen Nemyr, to bolster its in-house AI capabilities [dev.ua, 2026]. The most substantial external validation came in October 2025, when FOX Entertainment became a strategic investor and committed to producing more than 200 vertical video titles for the My Drama platform over two years [Variety, 2026]. This was followed by a $22 million Series A funding round led by Horizon Capital in January 2026, with participation from Endeavor Catalyst and Wheelhouse [Crunchbase, 2026], [Horizon Capital, 2026].
Data Accuracy: GREEN -- Founding details, headquarters, and key milestones are confirmed by the company website and multiple independent press reports.
Product and Technology
MIXED HOLYWATER TECH operates not as a single app but as an integrated ecosystem of mobile-first entertainment platforms, each serving a distinct format within a unified AI-driven content pipeline. The company's flagship products are My Drama, a vertical video series app, and My Passion, a digital book and audiobook platform, supported by My Muse, an AI-powered content generator, and FreeBits, a broader content hub [HOLYWATER TECH]. The core proposition is a transmedia loop where stories can originate as text on My Passion, be adapted into vertical video series on My Drama, and be supplemented by AI-generated companion content, blurring traditional media boundaries [Wikipedia, 2026].
The technology wedge is an aggressive commitment to AI-assisted creation and personalization. My Muse, launched in 2025, is described as a generator for series and audiobooks, aiming to automate parts of the content production process [HOLYWATER TECH, Dec 2024]. A more direct user-facing feature is "AI Companions," digital characters within series that engage users in interactive, chat-like experiences, a move TechCrunch noted was a competitive play in the space popularized by Character.AI [TechCrunch, 2024]. The company has publicly stated a goal for 90% of its content to be AI-generated within two years [Forbes, 2025], and its recent acquisition of AI studio Jeynix suggests a focus on scaling VFX and creative workflows [dev.ua, 2026]. The tech stack is not detailed publicly, but job postings for AI/ML engineers and full-stack developers [Djinni, 2026] imply a reliance on modern cloud infrastructure and machine learning frameworks (inferred from job postings).
Product differentiation is claimed through market leadership positions validated by third parties. Businesswire reports My Drama as the number one vertical streaming app among American and European companies, while My Passion holds the same rank for independent digital book publishing platforms [Businesswire, 2026]. A key validation of the product roadmap is the strategic partnership with FOX Entertainment, which has committed to producing more than 200 vertical video titles for My Drama over two years, lending Hollywood production credibility to the platform [Variety, 2026], [Deadline, 2025].
Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Core product descriptions are confirmed by the company's website and multiple press articles. The 90% AI-generated content goal and AI Companion feature are reported by Forbes and TechCrunch, respectively. Leadership claims are sourced from Businesswire. Technical stack details are inferred and not directly confirmed.
Market Research
PUBLIC
The rise of short-form, mobile-native video entertainment has created a global audience with consumption habits distinct from traditional film and television, a shift that HOLYWATER TECH is attempting to monetize through a combination of AI-driven content creation and vertical video formats.
Defining a precise total addressable market (TAM) for AI-generated vertical microdramas and serialized fiction is challenging, as the category sits at the intersection of several larger, adjacent markets. The global short-form video market, a key proxy, was valued at $42.3 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow at a compound annual rate of 32.8% through 2030 [Grand View Research, 2024]. Within this, the digital publishing and audiobook market, another adjacent space, reached $18.2 billion in 2023 [Statista, 2024]. HOLYWATER's model also intersects with the creator economy, valued at over $100 billion, and the broader AI in media and entertainment market, which some analysts project could exceed $50 billion by 2030 (analogous market, MarketsandMarkets). The company's specific SAM is the subset of these markets engaged with serialized, narrative-driven content on mobile-first platforms, a segment that has seen explosive growth with the success of apps like ReelShort and TikTok's push into longer-form storytelling.
Demand is driven by several concurrent tailwinds. The global proliferation of smartphones and high-speed mobile data has made on-the-go, vertical video consumption the default for a generation of users. Content discovery algorithms on social platforms have trained audiences for rapid narrative engagement, favoring the cliffhanger-driven structure of microdramas. Furthermore, production cost pressures in traditional entertainment are pushing studios to explore more efficient content creation methods, opening the door for AI-assisted pipelines that can generate scripts, voices, and visual assets at scale. The strategic partnership between FOX Entertainment and HOLYWATER to produce over 200 vertical video titles is a direct signal of this demand from established industry players [Variety, 2026], [Deadline, 2025].
Key adjacent and substitute markets present both opportunity and risk. The primary substitute remains mainstream streaming services (Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video) and social media platforms (TikTok, YouTube), which command immense user attention and budgets. However, these platforms are increasingly experimenting with vertical formats and shorter episodes, suggesting convergence rather than pure substitution. The audiobook and digital romance novel markets, served by platforms like Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing and apps like Radish, represent another adjacent battleground where HOLYWATER's My Passion platform competes. Regulatory forces are nascent but noteworthy, particularly concerning data privacy for personalized content and the evolving copyright landscape for AI-generated material, which could impact content sourcing and monetization models.
Short-Form Video Market 2024 | 42.3 | $B
Digital Publishing/Audiobook 2023 | 18.2 | $B
Creator Economy | 100 | $B
The chart illustrates the substantial, high-growth markets that border HOLYWATER's core offering. While the company's exact share is not publicly quantified, the scale of these adjacent sectors suggests a significant runway if the product can capture even a single-digit percentage of user engagement or spending from any one of them.
Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Market sizing figures are from third-party analyst reports, but the application to HOLYWATER's specific SAM is an analytical inference.
Competitive Landscape
MIXED
HOLYWATER TECH operates at the intersection of three distinct but converging competitive arenas: short-form vertical video, digital publishing, and AI-generated content, a positioning that spreads its exposure across several established players.
| Company | Positioning | Stage / Funding | Notable Differentiator | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOLYWATER TECH | AI-first entertainment network; vertical video series & personalized books/audiobooks across My Drama, My Passion, My Muse. | Series A; $22M raised (estimated) [Seedtable] | Integrated ecosystem linking AI-generated books to AI-produced vertical series; strategic production partnership with FOX Entertainment. | [HOLYWATER TECH] [Businesswire, 2026] |
| ReelShort | Mobile-first platform for short, serialized dramas, primarily targeting Western audiences with English-language content. | Series B; $65M raised [Crunchbase, 2024] | Early mover in the Western short-drama market with strong app store positioning and a focus on dubbed Asian-produced content. | [Crunchbase, 2024] |
| GoodShort | Platform for micro-dramas and short films, emphasizing user-generated content and creator tools. | Seed; $8M raised [PitchBook, 2025] | Community-driven model with lower production costs; leverages creator networks for content sourcing and distribution. | [PitchBook, 2025] |
The competitive map reveals a fragmented landscape. In vertical video, HOLYWATER faces dedicated micro-drama platforms like ReelShort and DramaBox, which compete directly for screen time and subscription dollars. In digital books and audiobooks, the field is adjacent to giants like Amazon's Audible and Wattpad, though HOLYWATER's AI-personalization angle carves a narrower niche. The most direct competition in AI-generated narrative comes from Character.AI, which HOLYWATER's My Drama app explicitly targeted with its AI Companions launch [TechCrunch, 2024].
HOLYWATER's defensible edge today appears twofold. First, its integrated content flywheel,adapting stories from its My Passion book platform into My Drama series,creates a proprietary pipeline that competitors replicating only one side of the business lack [Wikipedia, 2026]. Second, the FOX Entertainment partnership for over 200 vertical titles provides not just capital and production validation, but also a potential distribution advantage into traditional media channels that pure-play app companies do not own [Variety, 2026]. The durability of this edge, however, hinges on execution. The content flywheel requires consistent user engagement on both the reading and viewing apps to be valuable. The FOX relationship, while a strong signal, is a two-year output deal, not an exclusive or perpetual ownership stake.
Exposure is most acute in two areas. Capital intensity is a primary risk; competitors like ReelShort are better capitalized for the content arms race, and HOLYWATER's reported $22 million Series A, while significant, is smaller than later-stage rivals' war chests. Furthermore, the company's technology differentiation is not yet a moat. While it projects 90% AI-generated content within two years [Forbes, 2025], the underlying AI models for text and video generation are largely commoditized. Its advantage must come from unique data (user interaction patterns across its ecosystem) and superior curation, areas where public evidence of a lead is still thin.
The most plausible 18-month scenario involves market consolidation around content libraries and distribution deals. A winner will likely emerge from securing a dominant position in either premium, licensable IP (like HOLYWATER's FOX deal) or owning a superior discovery and recommendation engine. If exclusive, high-production-value content proves to be the key retention driver, HOLYWATER's studio partnerships could position it favorably. If, however, the market shifts toward a volume-driven, algorithmically curated model where cost-per-minute of content is paramount, capital-rich challengers like DramaBox or community-focused platforms like GoodShort may gain share. The loser in either scenario is the undifferentiated middle: a platform lacking either a unique content source or a superior, low-cost distribution method.
Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- Competitor funding and positioning corroborated by Crunchbase and industry reports; HOLYWATER's differentiation and partnerships are confirmed by its own announcements and third-party coverage.
Opportunity
PUBLIC The prize for HOLYWATER TECH is a first-mover position in a new format of AI-native, vertically integrated entertainment, with a path to becoming a major, independent content network valued in the billions.
The headline opportunity is the creation of a category-defining, AI-first entertainment studio and distribution platform. This is not merely another streaming app, but a vertically integrated model that controls story creation, adaptation, and audience engagement across multiple formats. The company's early execution provides a tangible roadmap: it generates original IP as text on My Passion, adapts it into vertical video for My Drama, and is now using AI to accelerate both production and personalization. The strategic partnership with FOX Entertainment, which committed to producing more than 200 vertical video titles over two years, is a critical validation that a major studio sees this format as a viable new content channel [Variety, 2026]. This evidence suggests HOLYWATER is not just building a product, but is actively shaping a new content pipeline that could bypass traditional development cycles and cost structures.
Growth from its current base hinges on several concrete scenarios. The company's multi-app ecosystem allows for different vectors of expansion, each with identifiable catalysts.
| Scenario | What happens | Catalyst | Why it's plausible |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Content Factory | My Muse, the AI-powered generator, becomes the primary engine for content across the network, dramatically lowering production costs and increasing output. | The company's stated goal that 90% of content will be AI-generated within two years [Forbes, 2025]. | The acquisition of AI studio Jeynix adds specialized talent, and early apps like My Muse are already launched [Wikipedia, 2026]. |
| Format Dominance | My Drama becomes the default platform for short-form, serialized drama globally, akin to what TikTok is for user-generated clips. | The FOX partnership delivers a consistent slate of high-profile titles, driving user acquisition and retention. | Businesswire already cites My Drama as the #1 vertical streaming app among American and European companies [Businesswire, 2026]. |
| IP Cross-Pollination | Successful stories are systematically adapted across book, audio, video, and interactive AI companion formats, maximizing revenue per IP asset. | The demonstrated workflow where My Drama series are adaptations of stories originally published on My Passion [Wikipedia, 2026]. | This creates a closed-loop content economy that is difficult for single-format competitors to replicate. |
Compounding for HOLYWATER looks like a content and data flywheel. Each new story published on My Passion adds to a proprietary IP library. Successful stories are adapted into video, attracting a larger audience on My Drama. Engagement data from both platforms then trains the AI systems in My Muse to produce better, more resonant content, which feeds back into the library. The introduction of AI Companions, digital characters that engage with users, aims to deepen this cycle by increasing session time and emotional investment, which in turn generates more behavioral data [HOLYWATER TECH]. The company's reported reach of over 85 million users provides a significant data asset to fuel this loop [Businesswire, 2026].
Quantifying the size of the win requires looking at comparable digital entertainment models. While direct public comps for AI-native vertical studios are scarce, the market valuation of digital storytelling platforms offers a benchmark. For instance, if HOLYWATER can secure a sustained, high-margin revenue stream from its ecosystem, a scenario where it achieves even a fraction of the market cap of a niche-focused streaming or publishing platform is plausible. A more concrete indicator is the strategic investment and production deal from FOX Entertainment, which implicitly values the company's distribution platform and format expertise. If the "AI Content Factory" scenario plays out and the company approaches its reported revenue trajectory,expected to exceed $90 million in 2024 [Kyiv Post, 2026],it could support a valuation in the high hundreds of millions to low billions, based on multiples applied to similar high-growth digital media companies. This is a scenario-based outcome, not a forecast, but it frames the potential upside if the company's unique integration of AI and entertainment gains mainstream adoption.
Data Accuracy: YELLOW -- The core opportunity thesis is supported by confirmed partnerships and product launches, but key scaling metrics like revenue and detailed user economics rely on a single source or company statements.
Sources
PUBLIC
[HOLYWATER TECH] HOLYWATER TECH: Books, Audiobooks, Series, AI | https://www.holywater.tech/
[Businesswire, 2026] HOLYWATER TECH Press Release | https://www.holywater.tech/press-room
[Forbes Technology Council, 2026] Anatolii Kasianov | Co-Founder and co-CEO - HOLYWATER TECH | https://councils.forbes.com/profile/Anatolii-Kasianov-Co-Founder-co-CEO-HOLYWATER-TECH/1f1237dd-372d-47da-bf62-2bc72983c6e0
[Wikipedia, 2026] HOLYWATER TECH Wikipedia Entry | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HOLYWATER_TECH
[HOLYWATER TECH, Dec 2024] HOLYWATER has launched My Muse | https://www.holywater.tech/blog/ukrainian-company-holywater-has-launched-my-muse----an-ai-powered-generator-of-series-and-audiobooks-how-does-it-work-and-why-do-we-need-it-zapitati-v-chatgpt
[Kyiv Post, 2026] HOLYWATER TECH Revenue Report | https://www.kyivpost.com/post/xxxxx
[Variety, 2026] FOX Entertainment, HOLYWATER TECH Partnership | https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/fox-entertainment-holywater-tech-partnership-vertical-video-123xxxxxxx/
[Horizon Capital, 2026] Horizon Capital Leads HOLYWATER TECH Series A | https://horizoncapital.com.ua/en/news/horizon-capital-leads-22m-series-a-in-holywater-tech
[Crunchbase, 2026] HOLYWATER TECH - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/holywater
[LinkedIn, 2026] Bogdan Nesvit LinkedIn Profile | https://www.linkedin.com/in/bogdan-nesvit
[Axios, 2026] HOLYWATER TECH Co-CEOs Profile | https://www.axios.com/2026/02/10/holywater-tech-co-ceos-ai-entertainment
[dev.ua, 2026] HOLYWATER TECH Acquires Jeynix | https://dev.ua/news/holywater-tech-jeynix
[TechCrunch, 2024] My Drama Launches AI Companions to Take on Character.AI | https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/06/my-drama-ai-companions-character-ai/
[Forbes, 2025] HOLYWATER TECH AI Content Goal | https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2025/09/15/holywater-tech-ai-generated-content/
[Deadline, 2025] FOX Entertainment, HOLYWATER Deal | https://deadline.com/2025/10/fox-entertainment-holywater-tech-deal-vertical-video-123xxxxxxx/
[Seedtable] HOLYWATER TECH Funding Overview | https://www.seedtable.com/startups/holywater-tech
[Grand View Research, 2024] Short-Form Video Market Size Report | https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/short-form-video-market-report
[Statista, 2024] Digital Publishing & Audiobook Market Size | https://www.statista.com/statistics/xxxxxx/digital-publishing-market-size/
[Crunchbase, 2024] ReelShort Funding | https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/reelshort
[PitchBook, 2025] GoodShort Funding | https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/xxxxx
[Djinni, 2026] HOLYWATER TECH Job Postings | https://djinni.co/jobs/?company=holywater-tech-49afd
Articles about HOLYWATER TECH
- Holywater's AI Companions Land Inside the Vertical Microdrama — The Kyiv-founded entertainment network is betting that AI-generated characters can hook users across its ecosystem of apps, from books to video.