TNL Mediagene Announces Its Japanese Media Subsidiary, Mediagene Inc Signs A Licensing Agreement With Mexico-Based Media Brand PICTOLINE To Launch PICTOLINE Japan In Early 2026

TNL Mediagene (NASDAQ:TNMG) (the "Company"), a Tokyo-based next-generation digital media and data group in Asia, today announced that its leading Japanese Media subsidiary Mediagene Inc. has signed a licensing agreement with the innovative Mexico-based media brand PICTOLINE ("PICTOLINE") to launch of PICTOLINE JAPAN in early 2026.

PICTOLINE is a Mexican media brand owned by Capital Digital, Mexico's most innovative digital media group. It produces distinctive, engaging visual content, including illustrations, infographics, animated graphics, comics and games to explain news, data, and information in a concise, entertaining, and shareable format for social media and other digital platforms. PICTOLINE uses visual design as the primary means of communication, aiming to make complex information more accessible and connect with a wide audience. It is highly acclaimed for "revolutionizing information design" by pioneering unique visual storytelling and transforming complex information into clear, compelling content. The brand's commitment to innovation has led to significant achievements, including the creation of the first Mexican animated series developed with HBO Max to receive an Emmy Award. Its greatest strength lies in its ability to create content that instantly evokes empathy and emotion. This power has enabled it to grow into a major player with enormous influence in Latin America.

PICTOLINE boasts market-leading engagement metrics, including 132 million monthly content views and 9.5 million followers and subscribers putting it among the most engaging content in Latin America, according to PICTOLINE's internal data and estimates. PICTOLINE is part of Capital Digital, a media holding company headquartered in Mexico.

Mediagene is a subsidiary of the Company and a Japanese enterprise with a proven track record in localizing media, with popular examples including Gizmodo Japan and Business Insider Japan, two well-known licensed brands that Mediagene has built into leading media properties in Japan. Since its founding in 1998, Mediagene has leveraged its expertise localizing popular IPs in Japanese market into additional language markets. Most recently, it launched Roomie International and Business Insider Taiwan into the global Mandarin language market, a market of over 1 billion readers globally.

The arrival of PICTOLINE JAPAN coincides with the rising popularity of platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, which have significantly shifted user behavior, particularly among younger demographics, from text-centric to visual-centric communication. Furthermore, search behavior for problem solving is increasingly being replaced by interactions with AI. Mediagene believes highly engaging visual content like PICTOLINE will become a mainstream media format going forward. Against this backdrop, Mediagene has positioned PICTOLINE as a media brand with expansion potential in Japan and the Asian market—where Generation Z is projected to account for a quarter of the population by 2025—and entered into a licensing agreement with PICTOLINE.

PICTOLINE co-founder Eduardo Salles has served as Creative Director for brands like Nike and Google, winning numerous awards including Mexico's first Cannes Lions Titanium & Integrated Award. Forbes named him one of the 30 most creative Mexicans working internationally. Eduardo plans to actively participate in the launch and operation of PICTOLINE JAPAN, and has currently relocated to Japan to facilitate the launch.

"We have long understood the incredible power of storytelling and the empathy it can foster with our audiences throughout our diverse and engaging media properties at Mediagene. With PICTOLINE JAPAN, we are taking our capabilities even further by bringing PICTOLINE's proven and unique visual storytelling format that has resonated so strongly with Latin American audiences and adding our expertise in Japan's cultural trends to bring it to Japanese audiences. We are excited to be working with PICTOLINE's founder Eduardo Salles locally in Japan to see that the launch is given the special touch it deserves. Moving forward, with the strong support of Eduardo, Mediagene will fuse PICTOLINE's unique expertise with Japan's cultural trends. As PICTOLINE JAPAN, we will provide users with unprecedented new visual media experiences and we are confident it will evolve into a compelling and engaging new borderless media platform. Please look forward to it," Co-Founder & President Motoko Imada commented.

For Gustavo Guzman, Managing Partner of Capital Digital and also co-founder of PICTOLINE, "Japan is a unique opportunity for the Mexican brand: "The country is accustomed to visual communication. Illustration is used to explain everything, from public transportation to physics manuals. However, there's nothing like PICTOLINE This gap revealed to us the opportunity to bring the brand there."

The Company currently plans to launch PICTOLINE JAPAN in the first half of 2026