Digital avatar startup Genies turns unicorn with $150M funding round

Genies, a digital avatar firm, has raised $150 million in Series C fundraising at a $1 billion valuation, making it the first crypto-focused platform to achieve “unicorn” status.

Silver Lake, a California-based private equity firm with $88 billion in assets as of 2021, led the investment round, with current investors Tamarack Global, BOND, and NEA also participating. Genies stated that the funds will be used to increase internal capacity in its engineering department as well as to invest in new technologies.

Genies is an avatar technology firm that was founded in 2017 with the goal of targeting social media and messaging services.

The startup helps users to develop avatars that can be used in virtual worlds. Its NFT marketplace, dubbed “The Warehouse,” was created in collaboration with Dapper Labs.

Through official relationships with Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, Genies claims to have captured a 99 percent market share for celebrity avatars. Now, it’s attempting to profit on the Metaverse, a catch-all term for enterprises attempting to bridge the actual and virtual worlds.