Madefire builds interactive "motion books" that add animation, sound effects and music to digital comics while preserving an active reading experience. The company offers a Motion Book Publisher product and works with publishers such as DC, IDW and Kodansha, and has collaborated with Apple on a comic about App Store review guidelines. Madefire started by publishing its own titles but is shifting from focusing solely on technology to building a large content library; Framestore will create Madefire-specific content. The firm says it is on track to have more than 40,000 books in its store by the end of the year. The new funding is intended in part to support expansion into virtual reality and augmented reality. Madefire builds “motion books” — comics enhanced with animation, music, and sound effects — and launched with original titles from established creators such as Dave Gibbons. Since launching, it has expanded its library through partnerships with deviantART (bringing user-generated content to its iOS apps) and deals with publishers like IDW; DC has said it is working with the company. Madefire offers technology for screen-designed storytelling and a print-to-digital conversion tool its partners can use. The company both publishes original content and licenses its platform to publishers, using publishing to test formats and business models. Leadership has suggested a Netflix-style, all-you-can-read subscription will likely be part of the ultimate business model, and sees opportunities to link comics to related film and TV content. Financially, Madefire completed a $5.2M Series A and plans to use the capital to broaden industry and media connections. Madefire develops "motion books," comics created specifically for tablets that layer animation, music and sound effects on top of traditional comic art while keeping reading under the user's control. The founders describe the product as a reading experience rather than passive "motion comics," aiming to be the best reading experience developed for the iPad. The company publishes episodic titles, with each current title releasing a new episode every week, and initially plans to make content free for "the coming months." Madefire also offers tools for other creators to sign up and produce their own comics, with an option for creators to charge if they wish. The startup has attracted prominent comics talent such as Dave Gibbons, Bill Sienkiewicz, Robbie Morrison and Mike Carey to its roster and advisory/creative teams. Madefire has raised a little more than $2 million from True Ventures and angel investors, which supports its product and content rollout.

Total raised

$14M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Oct 2016