Holywater is positioning itself as “the Netflix” of vertical streaming.
Holywater
Holywater, the Ukrainian founded vertical streaming company backed by Fox Entertainment, is raising a new $22 million funding round as it scales what its CEO Bogdan Nesvit openly describes as a mobile first Netflix built for short, episodic, vertical video.
The company operates at the intersection of three fast moving shifts in media. Viewers increasingly watch video on phones. Short form serialized storytelling is becoming a habit rather than a novelty. And generative AI is turning content development into a software driven process rather than a traditional studio workflow.
Holywater already runs several consumer apps, including My Drama for video and My Passion for fiction, and reports that video now accounts for roughly 70 percent of its revenue. Nesvit said the company is generating hundreds of thousands of dollars per month from AI generated video alone, separate from its live action slate. Across all products, Holywater reports a total user base of 85 million, with overall revenue and subscribers growing more than two times year over year.
The Fox relationship, announced in fall 2025, remains central to Holywater’s strategy. Fox committed to producing up to 200 vertical series for the platform over a two year period. Some of those series are already live and performing, according to Nesvit. Others are still moving through Holywater’s testing and discovery pipeline.
Holywater co-founders Bogdan Nesvit, CEO, seated, and Anatolii Kasianov, CTO.
Holywater
Holywater is not positioning itself as a traditional production studio. Nesvit repeatedly emphasized that the company sees itself as a platform first, focused on distribution, data, recommendation systems, and IP discovery rather than owning production outright.
“We are building mobile first video streaming,” Nesvit said. “It’s a great opportunity for big studios and creators who want to go vertical to focus on what they do best, which is producing content. We focus on tech, retention, recommendations, and IP discovery.”
One of Holywater’s most popular streaming episodic micro-dramas.
Holywater
That IP discovery system is where Holywater’s use of AI becomes most visible. The company operates an internal content funnel that moves fluidly between formats. Ideas often begin as short fiction on My Passion, where Holywater’s in-house writers develop and test stories with real audiences. If a story performs well, it can be adapted into an AI generated video series within days. If the video resonates, Holywater may then invest in live action production.
The process also works in reverse. Some projects start as AI generated video experiments. If those perform, Holywater may adapt them into books, comics, or eventually higher budget live action series. Nesvit described the ecosystem as format agnostic, with AI enabling rapid iteration across media types including fantasy, romance, anime inspired stories, and comics.
The interface for Holywater’s “My Drama” app.
Holywater
AI generated video currently takes one to two days per finished minute using Holywater’s internal tools, which integrate platforms like LTX Studio along with proprietary systems. That speed allows the company to test ideas at a scale that would be impossible with live action alone.
AI also plays a role in audience testing. Holywater routinely pilots shows on TikTok and YouTube Shorts to gather external signals, runs paid user acquisition campaigns to reach specific demographic segments, and measures performance with its existing subscriber base. Nesvit said there have been cases where content underperformed inside Holywater’s own audience but showed strong traction on social platforms, prompting the company to greenlight full series aimed at new viewers.
Still from Holywater’s popular melodrama “He’s Not My Husband, He’s My Target.”
Holywater
The content mix remains heavily skewed toward romance, which Nesvit said accounts for roughly 75 percent of production and audience demand. That audience is still predominantly female. At the same time, Holywater has expanded into fantasy and male oriented genres, particularly where AI enables higher production value without proportional cost increases.
Live action remains important. Nesvit described a premium tier of content that audiences clearly prefer in filmed form, and noted growing interest from traditional studios exploring vertical formats. Holywater works mostly with non-union crews due to budget and speed constraints, although exceptions are made for high profile talent. The company’s average budget for a one hour vertical series is often below $250,000.
Much of Holywater’s content, like “Mafia Beast Won Me In A Battle,” targets women. They are expanding their audience with new content in other popular genres, like anime.
Holywater
The team behind the platform reflects its hybrid nature. Holywater employs roughly 200 people, with most engineering talent based in Ukraine, where Nesvit said the company continues to find highly skilled developers at sustainable costs. IP development, production, and partnerships are centered in the United States, with additional production hubs in Europe.
In 2026, Holywater expects to release between 120 and 200 new series, a volume that exceeds the annual original output of most traditional streamers. Release timing is driven by readiness and seasonality, with the strongest performance occurring at the end and beginning of the year, and a secondary peak during summer months when mobile usage increases.
Nesvit sees Holywater’s role as a learning engine for vertical storytelling rather than a closed ecosystem. Studios and creators who publish on the platform receive detailed performance data, and Holywater positions itself as an exclusive distributor rather than a content owner in many cases.
“We created a safe ecosystem where studios and creators can come to us, share data, and learn from the audience,” Nesvit said. “We are ready to be the distribution engine.”
The new funding will be used to expand Holywater’s platform capabilities, improve recommendation systems, and scale AI driven IP discovery rather than dramatically increasing headcount or production spend. The company’s bet is that vertical streaming is not a side format but a distinct medium, and that AI will determine who can operate at the speed and scale mobile audiences now expect.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/charliefink/2026/01/16/holywater-raises-additional-22-million-to-expand-ai-vertical-video-platform/
