Aniara Secures €600,000 in Oversubscribed Pre-Seed Round Led by Aller Media Nordic

AI-powered book translation startup attracts strategic investors as it revolutionizes global publishing

STOCKHOLM, STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN, May 21, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Aniara, the Swedish AI startup transforming global book publishing through automated language technology, today announced the successful closing of its pre-seed funding round, securing nearly €600,000 – significantly exceeding its initial €360,000 target. The round was led by well renowned Aller Media Nordic, with participation from angel investor Membriq Invest and key staff contributing €45,000 in sweat equity.

Aniara uses AI technology to translate, produce, and distribute books globally, making it faster and more cost-effective for authors to reach international markets. The company's technology dramatically reduces translation time from traditional methods that take 3-8 weeks to just 35-45 minutes for the initial translation steps, while maintaining quality through human oversight in the final process.

"This oversubscribed round validates our vision of breaking down language barriers in publishing," said Rickard Lundberg, CEO and Founder of Aniara.
"Having Aller Media Nordic as our strategic investor brings invaluable industry expertise and market access. There's a beautiful symmetry in our partnership – Aller Media was founded on technological innovation that disrupted publishing over a century ago, and today we're continuing that tradition of transformation through AI. Their long-term perspective aligns perfectly with our mission to make literature truly global."

The investment from Aller Media Nordic, a family-owned media group with operations across all Nordic markets, represents a strategic alliance between modern publishing expertise and cutting-edge AI technology.

"At Aller Media, we recognize disruptive innovation when we see it – it's in our DNA," said Michael Aller, CEO of Aller Media Nordic. "Aniara's approach to AI-powered publishing has the potential to fundamentally transform how books reach global audiences. Just as our company pioneered new printing technologies in our early days, we see Aniara creating the future of global literature distribution. We're investing not just in a promising startup, but in a vision of borderless storytelling that aligns with our long-term perspective on media evolution."

The funding will primarily support Aniara's technology development to scale production processes, catalogue growth and marketing expansion. The company has already achieved significant traction with 128+ ISBNs in distribution, 50+ contracted authors, and operations across 14 markets in 8 languages.
Founded in November 2023, Aniara operates on a revenue-sharing model with authors, agents, and publishers, offering a more favourable alternative to traditional publishing while significantly accelerating market entry across multiple languages. The company's technology dramatically reduces production time while maintaining quality through a six-step process that combines AI efficiency with human oversight.

This pre-seed round follows earlier fundraising efforts and precedes a planned Seed Round targeting venture capital funds in Spring 2026.

About Aniara
Aniara (legal name: Aniara Press AB) is a Swedish startup revolutionizing the publishing industry through AI-powered translation and production. The company's mission is to connect readers with stories beyond borders and make literature truly global by breaking down language barriers through AI technology, while preserving the human element of storytelling. Founded in November 2023, Aniara has already distributed 128+ ISBNs across global markets and is led by CEO Rickard Lundberg, who brings extensive experience from Norstedts Publishing Group and Storytel. For more information, visit https://aniara.one.

About Media Nordic
Aller Media Nordic is a Nordic media company with operations across Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland. With a 150-year history, Aller Media is proud to deliver captivating stories and experiences across a wide range of platforms, publications, and events to its Nordic audiences, reaching 8.1 million people weekly through its nearly 60 premium brands. At its core, Aller Media has a deep understanding of women, connecting with almost half of all Nordic women — 5.1 million women every week. Aller Media Nordic employs 1,200 people who collaborate to create both broad and niche journalism and content across news, entertainment, celebrities, and lifestyle.

About Membriq Invest
Membriq Investment is an angel investor known for investing in technology-driven companies with strong growth potential, acting as an active partner by integrating expertise and experience to benefit all involved parties. Their investment philosophy focuses on technology companies with high scalability, entrepreneurs who believe in collaboration, and those seeking an engaged partnership.

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