US investors Endeavor Catalyst and Wheelhouse are also participating in the round.
“Nothing brightens a cold Kyiv night like the strong and energetic momentum of Ukrainian technology. Proud to have Horizon Capital lead a round of investment in HOLYWATER, the vertical storytelling company behind MyDrama, at a time of rapid growth in this segment globally. The round builds on the strategic partnership with Fox Entertainment announced in October and solidifies HOLYWATER’s position as the largest Western player in the vertical series market,” said Vasile Tofan, senior partner and member of the fund’s investment committee.
According to him, microdramas (short vertical videos for the phone) generated about $3 billion in global revenue in 2025 (excluding China), nearly tripling the previous year. In China, short and mini-dramas have surpassed all movie distribution in terms of total addressable market (TAM) and continue to grow at about 25% per year, driven by mobile consumption and the advertising model.
Leading markets demonstrate that daily time spent watching short dramas already exceeds that of long-form video, confirming a structural shift in content consumption.
According to Horizon Capital’s press release, HOLYWATER has shown rapid user and revenue growth in 2025, outpacing its competitors. The new capital will help the company grow its content production, launching new genres and formats, including AI comics and anime.
“Vertical series are no longer an experiment – they are a scalable and long-term format capable of creating global hits,” said HOLYWATER’s co-founders.
Today, HOLYWATER reaches more than 60 million users worldwide through the MyDrama, My Passion and My Muse platforms, enabling content to be created, tested and distributed quickly.
