Line is the messaging app that became a super-app before most Western companies even understood the concept. Created in 2011 by engineers at Naver (South Korea’s largest internet company) in response to the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that disrupted Japan’s telecommunications, Line was designed to enable communication via the internet when phone networks failed.
The app quickly became Japan’s dominant messaging platform and expanded across East and Southeast Asia. Today, Line has over 200 million monthly active users, with its strongest presence in Japan (95 million), Thailand (54 million), Taiwan (21 million), and Indonesia. In these markets, Line isn’t just a messaging app — it’s essential infrastructure for daily life.
Line’s ecosystem is staggering in scope. Line Pay handles mobile payments. Line News aggregates content. Line Manga distributes comics. Line Music streams songs. Line Shopping offers e-commerce. Line Healthcare connects patients with doctors. Line Bank (in partnership with financial institutions) provides banking services. The platform essentially wraps an entire digital life into one app.
In 2021, Line merged with Z Holdings (formerly Yahoo Japan) under SoftBank to form LY Corporation, creating one of the largest internet companies in Asia. This merger combined Line’s messaging dominance with Yahoo Japan’s search and e-commerce strength.
Line’s sticker ecosystem deserves special mention. Line essentially invented the sticker economy — creators can design and sell sticker packs, and the market generates hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Characters like Brown and Cony have become cultural icons with their own merchandise, stores, and even theme parks.
For businesses, Line Official Accounts provide customer communication tools, and the Line Ads Platform offers sophisticated targeting within the app. Revenue comes from advertising, communication services (stickers and themes), content (manga and music), and financial services.
