We had the incredible honor of sitting down with the man behind Hololive, Motoaki Tanigo (aka YAGOO), CEO of Cover Corp, and CTO Ryota Aomi, to dive deep into everything Hololive. From the rise of Cover Corp as a global entertainment powerhouse to the vision behind HoloEarth and the passionate community fueling it all, nothing was off the table.
Hololive is a virtual entertainment agency that manages a roster of popular VTubers; anime-style digital streamers who perform live content, sing, and interact with fans using motion-captured avatars.
In this exclusive interview, we discuss what makes Hololive so special, how it’s connecting fans worldwide, and what the future holds. Expect great answers, a bit of scuff (because it’s not a Hololive moment without it), and plenty of fun with the boss man himself!
A big thanks to Alberto Moreno for translating for us during the interview.
Update: 8/16/25: Added transcript of the interview for accessibility:
0:27 William Kok: Thank you for your time for this interview today.
Question 1: Congrats on the LA Stadium on the July 4th weekend.. How does it feel to return there and be essentially involved in blessing a World Series Champion Team?
1:00 YAGOO: This year’s Dodgers event was our second one. Last year, we had a drone show. This year, after the match, we were able to hold an event for fans and the talent to interact in the stadium. It is a great honor to be able to collaborate with such a historic team two years in a row. I feel like the fans were able to enjoy it as well.
William Kok: I remember that you had the honor of throwing the first pitch of the game, which I can imagine an honor that was.
2:06 YAGOO: The first pitch… made me quite nervous. I didn’t have much time to practice.
Question 2 : Matthew Paul: Cover has grown exponentially over the years since founding in 2016. Here we are in 2025 and Cover continues to grow into a prominent global figure in the Vtuber, Music and entertainment space. Now Hololibe has a 2nd concert in New York at Radio City Music Hall All For One. We remember last year with Breaking Dimensions. Is it both daunting and exciting to see that the brand has become such a powerful influence in this space?
(Unfortunately, due to technical difficulty, we lost a part of the interview that had a question about discussing the well-being of the talents and how Cover and Yagoo keep its employees and talents in optimal spirits.)
3:17 YAGOO: We still have challenges, such as higher costs, for expanding in the US. However, I am very happy to be able to deliver more concerts to our fans here.
Question 3 : William Kok: With the All For One Concert approaching and other concerts that have happened, is it safe to say that more events like this will happen in the future? And if so, what types of events you will be exploring? And if it will be a collaboration with streaming services like E+?
4:48 YAGOO: We wish to hold more offline events in the US, more than just concerts. This year, we plan to participate in game-related events in addition to anime-related events. We just released our trading card game as well, so we look forward to holding card game events over here.
Question 4 : William Kok: There are many fans who support them by buying official merchandise or going to concerts. Be it domestic and international economic policies, and/or increasing costs from production to logistics, it has become increasingly difficult to support them. Is there a chance to develop a local store in US or Indonesia, to help overseas fans support their favorite Vtuber?
6:34 YAGOO: In every locale, such as Indonesia or the US, fans have different needs for product design, price points, and so on. We intend to address such needs appropriately.
Question 5: Matthew Paul: Hololive has had interesting collabs in recent years, From Korone being featured on Sega streams, Pekora in Death Stranding 2, and Sakura Miko, Marine Senchou with McDonald’s. What has been your favorite collaboration for Cover?
8:02 YAGOO: This is a tough question. Each collaboration has its own merits. Collaborations in the gaming space, however, make opportunities for people all over the world to get to know the talent under the company umbrella. I’ve always thought of this as a superb thing.
Question 6: Matthew Paul: One of the best parts of Hololive Concerts is the 3D Showcases and surprise guests from other branches. In recent memory, we have seen Kobo, Kaela, Ollie, Moona, and others from hololive ID showcasing their talent. Are there any plans in the future for a Hololive ID Concert?
10:45 YAGOO: I would like to ask people to wait in anticipation. We have many ID members who are musically talented. There are many opportunities for them to appear as guests, and I can easily imagine them having their own solo concerts.
Question 7: William Kok : With Holofest being such a popular event in Japan and how much global popularity it is now, is there a chance that there may be a Holofest Overseas?
12:08 YAGOO: I think it would be great if we could do that. The high costs are the issue. There is also the question of whether we could do it by ourselves or have to partner up with another company. However, I would be happy to hold such an event in the US.
12:56 .William Kok: Then, finally… Anything you want to sharethat you want to bring attention or comments for your audience?
12:13 YAGOO: Yes. We intend to create more opportunities for fans to get together in online as well as offline spaces. We released the Holoearth service on a full scale in April. Because the US is such a large country, we will work toward creating more opportunities for fans to gather online. For offline spaces, there will be events such as for the card game, and collaborations such as with Kura Sushi USA for the fan community to come together. We wish to deliver new experiences like these.
14:57 Aomi: Tanigo-san just mentioned Holoearth so I would like to expand on that. Up to now, the communication between fans and talent was one-directional, or text based, such as through stream chat, YouTube comments, and social media. However, as a fan of Hololive myself, I had the wish to step into the same space where the streamers are. I think most fans can relate to this. The idea of Holoearth came about naturally in the pursuit of this concept. In Holoearth, we implemented a user-generated content feature which allows fans to create items and support their Oshi in a whole new way. We think of this as a deeper kind of experience than presented ever before. I hope the viewers will also give it a go.
15:46 Was is too long?
Alberto Moreno: It was too long! You kept me waiting.
Question 8: Matthew Paul: Will HoloEarth be playable on PC or only on mobile for now?
16:50 Aomi: It is currently only available as a PC application. We just launched it. However, there is a mobile version in development. We want it available on more kinds of devices so that users will not be bound by place of time whenever they want to step into the same space as their favorite VTuber talent.
