VTuber company VShojo is officially shutting down. The announcement came via X following a mass exodus of the company’s talent and multiple accusations of mismanagement of funds and failure to pay talent. CEO Justin “TheGunrun” Ignacio wrote the announcement, taking “full responsibility for the decisions” that led the company to this point.
The shutdown comes following an incredibly tumultuous week for the company, starting when the agency’s top performing VTuber Ironmouse announced that she was leaving the company due to not receiving a significant amount of funds, being misled about finances, and due to the company not making a $500,000 charity donation to the Immune Deficiency Foundation stemming from money she raised streaming. Following Ironmouse’s exit spreading across social media like wildfire, 12 of VShojo’s 13 creators announced their own departures from the company over the days that followed, with some also claiming unpaid wages as a component of their decision.
The statement from Ignacio describes an $11 million dollar funding round that had sustained the company for some time before it eventually ran out of money. In connection with the money meant to be donated to charity, the statement acknowledges that “some of the money spent by the company was raised in connection with talent activity, which [Justin Ignacio] later learned was intended for a charitable initiative.” You can read the statement in full below:
VShojo has failed, and I’ve mismanaged the company into the situation you’re all witnessing.
So today I am sharing the difficult news that VShojo is shutting down, and I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us to this point.
I’ve been doing everything I can to fundraise and right the ship these past few months, but despite my efforts, we are in a worse position, and those I care about are now paying the price.
Over the past few years, we raised around $11 million to pursue a bold, talent-first approach in VTubing, prioritizing creators and community over short-term profits, to achieve long-term sustainability. Our funding went directly to our creators through generous splits, debut investments, infrastructure, concerts, events, and staffing, all designed to support them. We also wanted talent to own their IP, which we knew was a unique creator-first approach for an agency. However, despite all our efforts, the business failed to generate the revenue we needed to sustain that model, and eventually, we ran out of money.
Additionally, I acknowledge that some of the money spent by the company was raised in connection with talent activity, which I later learned was intended for a charitable initiative. At the time, we were working hard to raise additional investment capital to cover our costs, and I firmly believed, based on the information available to us, that we would be able to do so and cover all expenses. We were unsuccessful in our fundraising efforts. I made the decision to pursue funding, and I own its consequences.
I am deeply sorry to all the talents, staff, friends, and community members who believed in our brand. You did not deserve this.
– Justin (Gunrun)
In the aftermath of her departure, Ironmouse kicked off a new fundraiser for the Immune Deficiency Foundation, which has since raised over $1.2 million at the time of publication. You can still donate to the fundraiser on Tiltify.
Source: X
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