Who Is hololive?

Last updated: October 2026

Name (Japanese)	ホロライブプロダクション (hololive production)
Category	VTuber (virtual YouTuber) talent agency
Parent company	COVER Corporation (Tokyo, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange)
Founder	Motoaki Tanigo, known to fans as "YAGOO"
Active since	2017 (first talent debut; first full generation in 2018)
Known for	Virtual idols, livestreaming, original music, and large-scale 3D concerts
Platform	YouTube (primary), plus concerts, games, and merchandise

hololive (stylized in lowercase, officially “hololive production”) is a Japanese virtual YouTuber agency operated by COVER Corporation, a Tokyo-based entertainment-tech company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Its talents are VTubers: entertainers who stream and perform as anime-style 2D and 3D avatars, with real performers behind the characters whose movements and expressions are captured in real time. Rather than a single person, hololive is best understood as something between a talent agency and an idol label, built entirely around virtual performers.

It is the largest operation of its kind in the world. As of late 2026, the agency manages roughly 90 affiliated talents whose combined YouTube subscriber count exceeds 90 million, with dozens of individual members each passing one million subscribers. For years the roster was organized into regional branches — hololive (Japan), hololive English, hololive Indonesia, the music-focused hololive DEV_IS, and the male group HOLOSTARS — until September 2026, when the female branches were merged into a single worldwide “hololive” label.

Rise to Fame

COVER Corporation was founded in June 2016 by Motoaki Tanigo, a tech entrepreneur universally known to fans by his nickname “YAGOO.” The company began as an AR/VR startup, and it pivoted to virtual talent after the success of early VTuber pioneer Kizuna AI showed the potential of character-based streaming. COVER’s first virtual performer, Tokino Sora, debuted on YouTube on September 7, 2017 — the date hololive still celebrates as its anniversary. The hololive name was first attached to a streaming app released that December, and then to the female talent group whose first generation debuted in mid-2018.

In December 2019, COVER unified hololive, HOLOSTARS, and its music label under the “hololive production” banner, and in 2020 it expanded overseas with Indonesian and English-language branches (a Chinese branch launched in 2019 also operated briefly before being dissolved in late 2020). The bet on English-speaking audiences paid off spectacularly during the pandemic streaming boom: hololive English’s first generation, known as “Myth,” turned shark-girl Gawr Gura into a global phenomenon and, for years, the most-subscribed VTuber in the world. In March 2023, COVER went public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange — a milestone that showed how big the once-niche VTuber business had become.

What hololive Is Known For

hololive’s output rests on a few pillars:

Livestreaming: talents broadcast gaming, singing, and free-form “zatsudan” (casual chat) streams on YouTube, and fan-made translated clips spread their personalities far beyond Japan.
Music and concerts: hololive operates like a modern idol agency, releasing original songs and staging arena-scale 3D concerts. Its annual flagship festival at Makuhari Messe near Tokyo — held March 6–8, 2026 as “hololive 7th fes. Ridin’ on Dreams” alongside the hololive SUPER EXPO fan event — fills exhibition halls for days.
Mainstream crossovers: recent examples include collaboration nights with the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team and singer Hoshimachi Suisei being named to Forbes Japan’s “30 Under 30” in 2025.
Games and media: the first official mobile game, hololive Dreams, launched worldwide on smartphones and Steam on July 23, 2026, after more than 1.3 million pre-registrations.

One piece of vocabulary helps newcomers: in Japanese entertainment, “graduation” (sotsugyo) is the term borrowed from idol groups for a performer leaving a group on announced terms. When a hololive talent graduates, the character’s activities end, though the person behind the avatar may continue performing elsewhere under a different identity.

Recent Years

The mid-2020s brought real turbulence. Several prominent talents departed, most notably Gawr Gura, who announced her graduation on April 15, 2025 and held her farewell streams alongside her fellow Myth members on May 1, 2025. In 2026, COVER also restructured HOLOSTARS toward individually driven activities, with six of its Japanese members announcing graduations, while star soloist Hoshimachi Suisei established her own personal agency, Studio Stellar, in March 2026 to handle her solo music and streaming work — while remaining a hololive talent.

At the same time, 2026 has been a year of reinvention. On September 7, 2026 — the agency’s 9th anniversary — COVER launched a new program called “hololive Next” and announced sweeping changes as part of a year-long countdown to the 10th anniversary in September 2027: the merger of the Japanese, English, Indonesian, and DEV_IS branches into one borderless hololive label, a redesigned logo, and the agency’s first TV anime, produced by Studio KAI and teased under the abbreviation “Odeholo” — later revealed as “hololive: Let’s Head Out!” The first post-merger unit, ASOBI★MAWARI-TAI!, was announced the same day, and its four members debuted later that month. As of October 2026, hololive remains the dominant force in the VTuber industry as it heads into its anniversary year.

FAQ

What does "graduation" mean in hololive?

It is the idol-industry term for a talent ending their activities with the agency. The avatar and character retire, but the performer behind them may continue creating content elsewhere under a different identity.

Is hololive a company or a group?

hololive is the talent-agency brand of COVER Corporation, a publicly listed Japanese company. It functions like a combination of a streaming talent agency and an idol music label, managing roughly 90 virtual performers.

Did hololive English shut down?

No. In September 2026 the English, Indonesian, and DEV_IS branches were merged with the Japanese branch into a single global "hololive" label. The talents continue their activities — the regional branch structure was simply retired.