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Nonfungible token (NFT) startup Genies has secured $150 million in Sequence C funding at a valuation of $1 billion, making it the most recent crypto-focused platform to realize “unicorn” standing.
The funding spherical was led by California-based non-public fairness agency Silver Lake, which manages $88 billion in belongings as of 2021, with further participation from present buyers Tamarack International, BOND and NEA. Genies mentioned the funding will go in direction of growing inside capability in its engineering division in addition to investing in new applied sciences.
Based in 2017, Genies is an avatar expertise firm that first got down to goal social media and messaging platforms. Now, it’s making an attempt to capitalize on the metaverse, a kind of catch-all phrase for corporations trying to bridge the bodily and digital worlds. The platform permits customers to create avatars that may be deployed in digital worlds. Its NFT market, dubbed “The Warehouse,” is constructed with Dapper Labs.
Genies claims to have gained 99% market share for celeb avatars by way of official partnerships with Common Music Group and Warner Music Group.
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Whereas NFT gross sales have slowed significantly from their peak final September, metaverse initiatives seem like respiratory new life into the trade. Knowledge from analytics agency Nansen not too long ago revealed that the NFT market’s metaverse section is rising quickly regardless of its overly speculative nature. Nansen classifies land, actual property NFTs, avatars and utility NFTs as metaverse performs.
Regardless of excessive volatility, the NFT market is rising at a sooner clip than the broader cryptocurrency market, in keeping with Nansen.
