Korean content platform RIDI, which had become the first domestic content startup to become a unicorn, has registered record sales. RIDI recorded 203.7 billion won in consolidated sales in 2021, a 30.9% growth rate compared to the previous year.
Last year, RIDI focused on discovering content IP while expanding it to webtoons, OSTs, and video content. RIDI released webtoons, such as ‘Patience, Grand Duke’ and ‘I have raised a dragon in darkness,’ made into webtoons of popular web novels.
Webtoon, web novels get top ranking globally
RIDI’s Manta, a global webtoon subscription service, is also continuing its growth by ranking first in 16 countries in North America, Europe, and Asia in the Google Play Store comic app category just over a year after its launch. In particular, RIDI’s mega-hit ‘Under the Oak Tree’ was released as a global webtoon, forming a global fandom beyond Korea.
The global fandom of ‘Under the Oak Tree’ continued to the original web novel. As soon as the web novel ‘Under the Oak Tree’ was recently published in English, it climbed to the top list in five countries, including Amazon’s American romance and fantasy category. However, operating profit turned red due to Manta’s investment in global marketing and large-scale talent recruitment.
RIDI is ready to leap forward as a global content company this year. In February, it attracted an investment of 120 billion won ($99 million) from GIC, etc. It became the first unicorn as a content platform startup, so it plans to focus its investment on discovering and spreading competitive content.
“Last year, RIDI made various attempts and bold investments to expand its content business and strengthen its global business competitiveness,” said Bae Gi-sik, CEO of RIDI, “We will focus on our business capabilities so that we can establish ourselves as a global content company.”
RIDI unveils premium e-book reader
Meanwhile, RIDI unveiled its premium e-book reader, ‘Ready Paper 4’. The premium e-book reader ‘Ready Paper 4’ is designed to be comfortable even if you hold it for a long time by placing a blank space next to the display. It is equipped with an ergonomic 9.5mm round page turn button. Another strong point is that it is the first e-book reader in Korea to apply a waterproof function of IPX8 rating (maximum depth of 2m, maximum 60 minutes).
It provides a wider 7-inch high-resolution e-ink display than its predecessor and is equipped with an Android 10 operating system, 3GB RAM, and an Exynos 850 (octa-core, 2.0GHz) processor. ‘Ready Paper 4’ is composed of two colors, black and white.
A RIDI official said, “The newly introduced ‘Ready Paper 4’ is a premium product with greatly upgraded design and performance so that you can enjoy an optimized reading experience.”
Also Read,
- RIDI announces record sales growth & success of webtoon service Manta in the US
- Korean webtoon & web novel distribution startup MZ Family attracts $ 3.4 million Series A investment
- Korean webtoon creation platform Toon Square attracts investment for ‘Tooning’
- Naver integrates WEBTOON and Wattpad with a $100 million investment
