Submission declined on 18 May 2026 by Devonian Wombat (talk). This draft reads like an advertisement. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not a platform for promotion or marketing. Drafts that are exclusively promotional may be deleted without notice. Wikipedia articles must be written neutrally in a formal, impersonal, and dispassionate way. They should not read like a blog post, advertisement, or fan page. Rewrite the draft to remove: promotional language: see Words to watch; personal commentary: opinions or direct addresses to the reader; informal language. Instead, only summarize in your own words a range of independent, reliable, published sources that discuss the subject. If you have a conflict of interest (e.g. you are the subject, an employee, or a relative) or are being paid to edit, you must disclose this to comply with Wikipedia's Terms of Use. This draft appears to contain text generated by a large language model (such as ChatGPT). You cannot use LLMs to generate article content. LLM-generated pages with certain obvious signs of being machine generated may be deleted without notice. These tools are prone to specific issues that violate our policies: hallucinations: they often invent false information and cite non-existent references. unencyclopedic tone: they tend to be vague, promotional, or essay-like, rather than neutral and factual. copyright issues: they may closely paraphrase existing text, leading to copyright violations. Instead, only summarize in your own words a range of independent, reliable, published sources that discuss the subject. See the advice page on large language models for more information. If you would like to continue working on the submission, click on the "Edit" tab at the top of the window. If you have not resolved the issues listed above, your draft will be declined again and potentially deleted. If you need extra help, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. Please do not remove reviewer comments or this notice until the submission is accepted. Where to get help If you need help editing or submitting your draft, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. These venues are only for help with editing and the submission process, not to get reviews. If you need feedback on your draft, or if the review is taking a lot of time, you can try asking for help on the talk page of a relevant WikiProject. Some WikiProjects are more active than others so a speedy reply is not guaranteed. How to improve a draft Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia – a basic overview on how to edit Wikipedia. Help:Wikitext – how to use the markup Help:Referencing for beginners – how to include references Wikipedia:Article development – how to develop your article Wikipedia:Writing better articles – how to improve your article Wikipedia:Verifiability – make sure your article includes reliable third-party sources You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Add tags to your draft Editor resources Easy tools: Citation bot (help) | Advanced: Fix bare URLs Declined by Devonian Wombat 18 days ago. Last edited by Devonian Wombat 18 days ago. Reviewer: Inform author. Resubmit Please note that if the issues are not fixed, the draft will be declined again.

Submission declined on 22 April 2026 by ChrysGalley (talk). This draft appears to contain text generated by a large language model (such as ChatGPT). You cannot use LLMs to generate article content. LLM-generated pages with certain obvious signs of being machine generated may be deleted without notice. These tools are prone to specific issues that violate our policies: hallucinations: they often invent false information and cite non-existent references. unencyclopedic tone: they tend to be vague, promotional, or essay-like, rather than neutral and factual. copyright issues: they may closely paraphrase existing text, leading to copyright violations. Instead, only summarize in your own words a range of independent, reliable, published sources that discuss the subject. See the advice page on large language models for more information. Declined by ChrysGalley 44 days ago.

Submission declined on 25 March 2026 by Theroadislong (talk). This draft's references do not show that the subject meets Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion for organizations and companies. The draft requires multiple published secondary sources that: provide significant coverage: discuss the subject in detail, excluding routine coverage like product launches, staff appointments, or financial reports and listings in databases or listicles; are reliable: from reputable outlets with editorial oversight; are independent: not connected to the subject, such as press releases, the subject's own website, or sponsored content. Please add references that meet all three of these criteria. If none exist, the subject is not yet suitable for Wikipedia. Declined by Theroadislong 2 months ago.

• Comment: No substantial improvements have been made since the last decline. Devonian Wombat (talk) 10:46, 18 May 2026 (UTC)

• Comment: Unchecked AI used here. ChrysGalley (talk) 10:47, 22 April 2026 (UTC)

Animaj is a French media company focused on children's and family entertainment, headquartered in Paris, with offices in London and Madrid. Founded in 2022 by Sixte de Vauplane, the company focuses on acquiring and scaling children's intellectual properties (IPs) into global, multi-platform franchises through a digital-first and technology-driven approach.

The company distributes content across platforms including YouTube, streaming services, social media, and music platforms, and integrates proprietary artificial intelligence tools into its production processes. Its portfolio includes brands such as Pocoyo, Maya the Bee, HeyKids, and Kidibli.

In 2025, Animaj was selected to join the Disney Accelerator program, a business development initiative by The Walt Disney Company supporting companies in media and entertainment.^[1]

Animaj was founded in 2022 by entrepreneur Sixte de Vauplane, who previously co-founded the food delivery company Nestor, later acquired by Elior Group.

Grégory Dray, former Managing Director of YouTube Kids International, joined as co-founder and Chief Business Officer.

The company was established with the objective of developing children's entertainment franchises adapted to digital distribution, particularly across platforms such as YouTube and streaming services.

Animaj initially raised seed and Series A funding from investors including XAnge, Daphni, Kima Ventures, Motier Ventures, and Left Lane Capital, alongside debt financing from Bootstrap, Atempo, and Viola Credit.^[2]

In September 2023, Animaj acquired full ownership of Pocoyo, a Spanish animated preschool franchise created by David Cantolla, Luis Gallego, and Guillermo García Carsí.

The acquisition marked a key step in the company's strategy to build a portfolio of established children's IPs and expand them across digital distribution, content production, and licensing. As part of the acquisition, Animaj also brought on the show's original creator, Guillermo García Carsí.^[3]

In June 2025, Animaj raised $85 million (approximately €75 million) in a funding round led by HarbourView Equity Partners and Bpifrance Large Venture.^[4][5]

Additional investors included JP Morgan, Bootstrap Europe, Left Lane Capital, XAnge, Daphni, and Marquee Ventures. The company stated that the funding would support expansion of its IP portfolio, production capabilities, and international distribution.

In October 2025, Animaj entered into a strategic alliance with Studio 100 International to become co-owner of the Maya the Bee franchise outside the DACH and Benelux regions.^[6]

Under the agreement, Animaj is responsible for digital strategy, content development, and international expansion of the brand in its territories, while Studio 100 retains rights in German-speaking markets and certain other areas, including theatrical distribution.

In July 2025, Animaj was selected as one of the companies participating in the Disney Accelerator program, alongside three other companies chosen from thousands of candidates.^[7]

The program provides investment, mentorship from Disney executives, and opportunities for strategic collaboration. Animaj was selected for its digital-first franchise model and AI-driven production approach.

In February 2026, Animaj and Hasbro established Lumee, a joint venture focused on digital advertising and brand partnerships in children's and family media.^[8]

The initiative provides advertisers with access to curated inventory across a portfolio of family-oriented IPs distributed primarily on digital platforms.

In March 2026, Animaj joined Google's AI Futures Fund, receiving investment and access to technologies including Gemini, Veo, and Imagen.^[9][10]

The partnership supports the development of new content formats and the use of artificial intelligence in production workflows.

Animaj's strategy focuses on acquiring established children's intellectual properties and developing them into multi-platform franchises through digital distribution, content production, and licensing. The company has described its model as "digital-first" — targeting platforms such as YouTube before expanding to traditional broadcasters and streaming services.

The company distributes content across platforms including YouTube, streaming services, social media, and audio platforms. As of 2025, Animaj reported more than 22 billion annual views and 240 million unique monthly viewers across its YouTube channels.

Animaj has developed proprietary AI-based production tools for children's animation. The company's pipeline includes systems referred to as "Sketch-to-Motion"^[11] and "Motion-In-Betweening",^[12] designed to streamline animation workflows and reduce production time while maintaining visual consistency.

The tools were developed specifically for the requirements of children's animation, including non-human body proportions and stylised character movement, and trained on Animaj's proprietary content library.

The company also uses audience data and platform analytics to inform content development and distribution strategies.

Pocoyo is a Spanish animated preschool franchise created by David Cantolla, Luis Gallego, and Guillermo García Carsí. First launched in 2005, the series became one of Spain's most internationally recognized children's brands, expanding across television, digital platforms, mobile apps, films, and consumer products. Originally produced by Zinkia Entertainment, the franchise was acquired by Animaj in 2023.^[13]

Maya the Bee is a children's entertainment franchise based on the 1912 book Die Biene Maja und ihre Abenteuer by German author Waldemar Bonsels. The character has been adapted into multiple screen formats over time, including animated television series and feature films.

One of the earliest and most widely distributed adaptations is the animated series Maya the Honey Bee (1975–1976), produced by Zuiyo Enterprise and later Nippon Animation, which contributed significantly to the character's international popularity, particularly in Europe.

In 2012 (first season) and 2017 (second season), a CGI animated television adaptation was produced by Studio 100 Animation in association with ZDF in Germany and TF1 in France, as part of a broader revival of the franchise that also included feature films and global distribution.

In 2025, Animaj entered into a strategic alliance with Studio 100 International and became co-owner of the franchise outside the DACH and Benelux regions. Under the agreement, Animaj assumed responsibility for the brand's digital strategy, content development, and international expansion in those territories.^[14]

Category:Companies established in 2022 Category:Children's media companies Category:Media companies of France Category:Companies based in Paris Category:Artificial intelligence companies