INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
about personalized avatars
More than one million people have customized dozens of traits to build a realistic digital lookalike of themselves from over a million
interpreting a few weekly news stories and seasonal moments
which acts out keywords and sentiments in reaction to what you type, which you can then share elsewhere
And Genies is launching a software developer kit that charges other apps to let you create avatars and use them for chat, stickers, games,
The party round comes from a wide range of investors, from institutional firms like NEA and Tull Co
Sherman; and musicians, including A$AP Rocky, Offset from Migos, The Chainsmokers and 50 Cent
Some like Offset have even used their Genie to stand in for them for brand sponsorships, so their avatar poses for photos instead of
Rosenbaum and Matt Geiger on a startup called Blend that raised some money
Watching Snapchat-owned Bitmoji stay glued atop the app download charts inspired them to see more opportunity in the avatar space
Genies has had some talent issues, though
Nigam says it fired co-founder and president Matt Geiger, and a source tells me there were company culture issues that led to issues with
the content writers it hired to create scenes for Genies to act out
revamped Genies app lets you chat with up to six friends through your avatar
As you type, Genies detects actions, places, things and emotions, and offers you corresponding animations your avatar acts out with a tap
Given people already have plenty of place to chat, it might be tough to get people to move real conversations inside Genies for more than a
naturally augment your threads.Gucci paid to let Genies users add its luxury clothes to their avatarsWith the Genies SDK, the startup is
But for $100,000 to $1 million in licensing fees, Genies allows apps to develop much deeper avatar features
act out the weather or celebrate transactions
already-established cartoony avatars
Users spent an average of 19 minutes creating their Genie, so the SDK could add significant engagement to these apps
Genies has also launched its first official brand deal, where Gucci has created a wheel in the Genies creator so you can deck out your
and the prototype looks childish
instantly identifiable as you
By designing avatars that not only look like you but like a cooler version of you, Genies could capture the hearts and faces of millions of
teens and the influencers they follow.
