Ready Player Me, a Tallinn, Harjumaa-based AI-generated avatar creation cross-platform for the metaverse, raised $56 million in a Series B funding round to scale the cross-platform metaverse avatar system.
The latest financing follows the company’s Series A announced in December 2021, when the team raised $13 million in a funding round led by Taavet+Sten.
The round was led by a16z, and other participants included Roblox co-founder David Baszucki, King Games co-founders Sebastian Knutsson and Riccardo Zacconi, Hartbeat Ventures, Punk6529, D’Amelio family, Snowfro, Collab Currency, Plural, and Konvoy Ventures. Twitch co-founder Justin Kan also participated.
This funding will allow Ready Player Me to continue scaling the avatar system to make it more flexible for developers, develop new tools to assist developers in monetizing avatar assets and create tools for individual creators to participate in the cross-game avatar marketplace.
Company: Wolfprint 3D OÜ
Raised: $56.0M
Round: Series B
Funding Month: Aug 2022
Lead Investors: Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
Additional Investors: David Baszucki, Sebastian Knutsson, Riccardo Zacconi, Hartbeat Ventures, Punk6529, D’Amelio family, Snowfro, Collab Currency, Plural, and Konvoy Ventures, and Justin Kan
Company Website: https://readyplayer.me/
Software Category: AI-generated avatar creation cross-platform
About the Company: Founded in 2014, Ready Player Me is a cross-game avatar platform for metaverse builders, creators, and residents that allows users to create a 3D avatar with a selfie and use it in 3,000+ compatible apps and games. Users can use VRChat to explore virtual worlds, MeetinVR to join meetings, and LIV to stream to their fans—all while wearing their personal avatar that represents them in virtual worlds. RPM has already formed alliances with well-known companies such as Adidas, Warner Brothers, Pull&Bear, and Dior. Hiber, Mzaalo, the Nemesis platform, 8th Wall, and Pixelynx are also partners. RPM has also finished custom avatar infrastructure for corporate behemoths like HTC, Verizon, Tencent, and Wargaming. Ready Player Me's mission is to break down the virtual walls to build a more open and connected metaverse.
Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/metaverse-startup-ready-player-me-raises-56-million-in-series-b-led-by-andreessen-horowitz/