The heroes in Demon Slayer use Nichirin swords against their vampiric enemies, and the soldiers of Attack on Titan use complex vertical maneuvering equipment to face their gargantuan foes. Patrick Liu, CFO of mobile gaming platform CTW, wields a different type of weapon: KPIs. Japanese anime, once an obscure art form for US viewers, has exploded in popularity. The anime industry in 2024 grew nearly 115% YoY to 3.8 trillion yen ($24.1 billion at 2024 year-end), the Association of Japanese Animations reported in October. Most of this came from outside Japan; international markets grew 126% to nearly 2.2 trillion yen. Anime accounted for more than 4% of all Netflix viewing across global markets in the second half of 2025, while Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle became the highest-grossing international film in North American theaters last year, as of mid-October. CTW, which runs a web-based mobile gaming platform based on anime IP, has used the growing anime fandom as the basis for US expansion. Because anime has become mainstream, “we believe this [gives] us lots of tailwinds as well as marketing opportunities to market the platform and the games we offer on the platform in this [US] market,” Liu said. Keep reading.—AZ | | |
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Grant Lee, founder and CEO of Gamma, compares life as a founder to a roller coaster—full of ups and downs. The unpredictability of building and scaling a successful startup requires a reliable banking team like J.P. Morgan. With the stability and support J.P. Morgan provides, Grant and his team have the confidence to keep dreaming, building, and growing as Gamma reimagines how people present and share their ideas with the world. As the Bank of the Innovation Economy, J.P. Morgan supports founders at every stage of their journey. More than 11,000 companies trust J.P. Morgan for personalized guidance, sector-specific expertise, and the support they need to scale with confidence and maximize their impact. Learn more about how J.P. Morgan helps founders. |
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Friends to foes to…IPO twins? Elon Musk and Sam Altman must’ve both used downtime during their recent legal battle to do some IPO planning. We’ve spent the bulk of 2026 waiting for more news about the two mammoth public offerings reportedly in the pipeline—Musk’s SpaceX and Altman’s OpenAI—and now, within a matter of days, both companies have major updates on the IPO front. On May 15, Reuters reported that SpaceX was aiming to speed up its IPO launch date, with the goal of going public on June 12. That was a shift from its previously planned July debut date, which was reported back in April by the Wall Street Journal. Then, SpaceX filed its S-1 prospectus with the SEC on Wednesday. Musk’s company—described in the filing as “the only company building the integrated hardware and software infrastructure of the future across space, connectivity, and AI”—plans to list under the ticker symbol SPCX on Nasdaq. According to CNBC, SpaceX will kick off its roadshow on June 8. And look at that: On May 20, the Journal reported OpenAI has plans to confidentially file an IPO prospectus with regulators as soon as Friday. “The goal is for OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, to be ready to go public as early as September,” the WSJ said, though the people familiar with the matter who spoke to the Journal noted “the plans remain fluid and could still change.” Keep reading.—NP | | |
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SAP announced its biggest move on AI and the future of enterprise software at last week’s Sapphire conference and customer event in Orlando, FL. AI agents will drive the future of HR tech, and employees, as well as other enterprise users, will navigate fewer systems by querying the system via natural language to leverage interconnected agentic processes to get work done. The Orlando event featured SAP’s new “autonomous enterprise” strategy, a system built around agents capable of orchestrating and executing end-to-end business processes across HR and other functions in SAP’s wheelhouse, such as finance and supply chain. The autonomous enterprise is “execution with more automation, more efficiency powered by AI,” according to Dan Beck, GM and chief product officer of SAP SuccessFactors. SAP is “really embracing all things AI and really redefining much of how enterprises run,” he told HR Brew. “From a system of record to a system of execution.” Keep reading on HR Brew.—AD | | |
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Everyday spend with CFO energy. Verizon Visa® Card offers 4% in rewards on gas, grocery store purchases, and dining**, with no annual fee# and rewards that don’t expire**. Existing Verizon customers can redeem toward their monthly Verizon bill or eligible devices. Plus, learn how new cardholders can get up to $150 cash back as a statement credit.+ Budget committee, pleased. |
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Today’s top finance reads. Stat: 6.5%. That’s the average 30-year mortgage rate in the US this week, a nearly two-month high. (Bloomberg) Quote: “The risk isn’t whether SpaceX is a real business; it clearly is. The risk is whether a $1.75 trillion valuation adequately prices in the execution challenges that come with being part rocket company, part internet provider, part AI venture, and very much driven by the vision of one individual.”—Josh Gilbert, analyst at eToro, a trading platform that will offer SpaceX’s public shares (Reuters) Read: Pressure on bond markets continues, as inflation, debt, and war continue to deal major shocks to the macroeconomy. (the Wall Street Journal) From vision to venture backed, J.P. Morgan supports founders at every stage of their journey. As your dedicated banking team, J.P. Morgan can offer guidance backed by real-world insights and an entrepreneurial perspective. Learn more.* *A message from our sponsor. |
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✳︎ A Note From Verizon **REWARDS: Rewards categories are 4%: gas, grocery store purchases, dining and Verizon store purchases (excluding bill payment). 1%: All other purchases. Purchases subject to credit approval. See the Verizon Visa® Credit Card Rewards Program Terms & Conditions in application for details and restrictions. +Account Opening Offer: Subject to credit approval. To apply, you must be a Verizon wireless Account Owner or Account Manager on an account with up to 12 phone lines max (depending on plan) or Fios Account Owner with at least one active Fios service. In order to qualify for this offer, you must (i) apply and be approved for a Verizon Visa Signature® Card account; (ii) make your first purchase within 90 days to receive a $50 statement credit, and(iii) make $1,500 in qualifying purchases within the first 90 days of account opening to receive the $100 statement credit. Only one offer per account. Account must remain open and in good standing at time statement credit is applied to the Account. A $50 statement credit will post to account 1-2 billing cycles after first purchase is made. A $100 statement credit will post to account 1-2 billing cycles after the spend threshold of $1500 is met within 90 days. Statement credit(s) cannot be used to satisfy the required monthly payment on your credit card account and may not be redeemed for cash or cash equivalent. This offer is available for applicants who are approved starting 1/7/2026. We reserve the right to discontinue or alter the terms of this offer at any time. Limited time offer. #NO ANNUAL FEE: For New Accounts as of 1/1/26: Verizon Visa Signature® Card: Variable Purchase APRs are 22.24%, 27.24% or 33.24%. Variable Penalty APRs are 32.24%, 37.24% or 39.99%. Min Interest Charge $2. Variable Cash APRs are 26.49%, 31.49% or 37.49% and 5% Fee ($10 min). Variable Bal Trans APRs are 22.24%, 27.24% or 33.24% and 5% Fee ($5 min). The Verizon Visa Signature® Card is issued by Synchrony Bank pursuant to a license from Visa USA Inc. © 2026 Verizon Morning Brew is a paid entity |
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