Just-In: NFT Avatar Firm Genies Becomes A Unicorn On New Funding

Genies, a non-fungible token (NFT) avatar company, has raised $150 million in a recent funding round led by private equity giant Silver Lake. The investment values Genies at $1 billion, making it a crypto unicorn.

Genies had previously attracted investment from Disney’s former CEO Bob Iger, who now serves on the Genies board, and Mary Meeker’s venture firm Bond. According to a report by the New York Times’s DealBook, the deal marks the latest venture by traditional investment firms, such as Silver Lake, into the crypto space.

Genies Raises Its Valuation To $1 Billion

NFT avatar technology firm Genies allows users to create virtual avatars NFTs and sell them in an online marketplace. The NFT company has partnered with record labels such as Universal and Warner to be their official provider of avatars and NFTs. Moreover, the company is working with celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Migos, and Cardi B for NFT avatars.

Akash Nigam, a co-founder of Genies, thinks metaverse in a free world where customizable avatars can help people express themselves differently than in their real life.

Commenting on its investment in a web3 company, Silver Lake’s co-chief executive Egon Durban, told DealBook:

“Sometimes it’s a small company like this, and other times it’s huge, large companies that need to be transformed.”

Genies was launched in 2017 and within just five years of operating, it has now attained a unicorn status.

Companies Exploring the NFT and Metaverse Space

The hype for NFT and metaverse has led companies in every sector to explore the new virtual setting, either directly or indirectly. The metaverse allows people to visualize, interact, and communicate with each other through specifically designed software and devices. A user can use and owns things in the metaverse ecosystem known as NFTs.

Big companies including American Express, Mastercard, Meta, YouTube, Twitter, Spotify, etc. are exploring the metaverse and NFTs space. With several financial services and private equity firms investing massively in small startups working on metaverse, NFTs, or other Web 3.0 technologies.