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Time Warner Invests in Gaia Online Virtual Community

CEO Craig Sherman of Gaia Interactive, the company that runs the anime-inspired Gaia Online virtual community, has confirmed that his company has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Time Warner. Since 2006, Gaia has received over US$20 million in capital across two rounds of funding, and Time Warner's investment came during the second of these rounds.

Sherman did not disclose the specific terms of the deal, but the investment did not give Time Warner any say in how the company is managed. Recently, Sony made a similar investment in Gaia, while Warner Brothers has used the community to promote some of its films. Earlier in the year, anime distributor FUNimation Entertainment also partnered with Gaia in a promotional campaign for the Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE television series. Gaia Interactive was founded by members of Studio XD, a group of artists who have separately and jointly contributed to the graphic novel adaptations of several Japanese anime and game franchises. The community is primarily aimed at an audience within the ages of 13 and 22. Gaia has 11 million reported members; it and Japan's 2channel website have been listed as the largest bulletin board systems in the world.

Source: Media Week