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Spain’s government is investing €6.4 million ($7.3 million) in newly established Canary Islands animation company Amuse Labs, accelerating the archipelago’s push to become a global base for children’s IP.
The deal, structured
through state-backed technology investment vehicle SETT, brings together $15.1 million in public and private capital. SETT will hold a 48% stake, while Amuse Studios will become Amuse Labs’ second-largest shareholder.
The operation is expected to underpin animation projects valued at up to $22.9 million, giving Amuse Labs the financial muscle to expand internationally and operate across the full production and commercial chain.
Based in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Amuse Labs is a digital animation studio and production company focused on creating, producing and internationally exploiting children’s content for broadcasters and digital platforms.
Central to its business model is ownership of the intellectual property behind its productions, rather than operating solely as a service provider. Amuse Labs will oversee projects from writing, production and technological development through distribution, licensing and merchandising.
Its expansion plan targets North America, Asia, the European Union and the U.K. Potential clients and partners extend beyond broadcasters and streamers to toy manufacturers and publishing groups, reflecting its ambition to build franchises across multiple revenue streams.
The company also plans to deploy new technology across its 2D animation and CGI pipelines, localization and production management, including AI tools designed to streamline specific processes.
The operation is expected to create 40 direct jobs and around 150 indirect positions across animation, post-production, sound, translation, distribution, licensing, merchandising and legal services.
“Spain is strengthening its leadership in audiovisual production, with the Canary Islands as a strategic engine,” Ángel Víctor Torres, Spain’s minister for territorial policy and democratic memory, said in a statement.
SETT, which sits under Spain’s Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration, invests public capital alongside private partners in strategic, technology-driven industries. The deal forms part of the second phase of the Spain Audiovisual Hub plan, a government initiative aimed at strengthening the country’s film, TV and digital-content sectors while attracting international production and investment.
The Amuse Labs deal brings Spanish government commitments to the Canary Islands’ audiovisual sector to nearly $46 million over the past two months.
It follows SETT’s $28.8 million backing of Las Palmas-based animation studio Anima Kitchent alongside global animation and VFX group DNEG, as well as its participation with South Africa’s Known Associates Group in an audiovisual venture encompassing post-production and digital arts operations in the islands.
Amuse Labs joins a growing cluster of audiovisual companies operating under the Canary Islands Special Zone (ZEC), the archipelago’s investment-oriented low-tax regime.
