Hololive Production is a virtual YouTuber agency owned by Japanese tech entertainment company Cover Corporation. In addition to acting as a multi-channel network, Hololive Production also handles licensing, merchandising, music production and concert organization. As of January 2024, the agency manages 80+ VTubers in three target languages (Japanese, Indonesian, and English), totalling over 80 million subscribers, including several of the most subscribed VTubers on YouTube and some of the most watched female streamers in the world. The name "Hololive" was initially used for Cover's 3D stream distribution app, launched in December 2017, and later its female VTuber agency, whose first generation debuted from May to June 2018. In December 2019, Hololive was merged with Cover's male Holostars agency and INoNaKa music label under the unified "Hololive Production" brand. Cover Corporation was founded by Motoaki "Yagoo" Tanigo, an entrepreneur who had developed video game characters in collaboration with Sanrio at the content company Imagineer and founded various startup companies. Cover at first focused on augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR) software, and received funding from incubator firms Tokyo VR Startups and Recruit. At the end of March 2017, the company showcased a tech demo for a program enabling real-time avatar motion capture and interactive, two-way live streaming. According to Tanigo, the idea for a "virtual idol" agency was inspired by other virtual characters, such as Hatsune Miku. Kizuna AI, who began the virtual YouTuber trend in 2016, was another likely inspiration. Cover debuted Tokino Sora, the first VTuber using the company's avatar capture software, on 7 September 2017. On 21 December, the company released hololive, a smartphone app for iOS and Android enabling users to view virtual character live streams using AR camera technology. On 5 April 2018, Cover removed the application's AR features and changed it into a tool for mapping a user's facial movements onto animated avatars in r