Key Highlights:
- Bob Iger invests in Genie and joins the board of metaverse start-ups.
- Several celebrities and luxury brands are exploring the potential of the metaverse.
- Genie has raised around $100 million funding by far.
Bob Iger will be joining the board of metaverse start-up Genie. He is a former Disney Chairman, and now will be investing in Genie. He is not the first big name to join the metaverse, several big names are exploring the potential of the metaverse. Bob Iger left Disney in 2021 and this is the first move after leaving the company.
Celebrities join Genie
By far several international celebrities have joined the metaverse, such as Jennifer Lopez, Lil Nas X, and Rihanna. Genie owns 99% of the celebrity avatar market share and includes Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group as clients. The company makes NFTs or non-fungible tokens.
“I’ve always been drawn to the intersection between technology and art, and Genies provides unique and compelling opportunities to harness the power of that combination to enable new forms of creativity, expression, and communication,” commented Bob Iger.
Luxury Brands joining Metaverse
By far, Genie has raised $100 million from venture capital investor Mary Meeker’s firm Bond and Brayer Capital. Metaverse has piqued the interest of several luxury brands. For instance, Gucci and Roblox have hosted a 2-week art installation at the Gucci Garden where visitors could try and purchase digital products to dress the avatars while walking through rooms themed with brand campaigns.
Alongside, at a Fornite event, the players could have access to digital Balenciaga merchandise inspired by real-life pieces. The hub also allows the players to meet each other virtually. Louis Vuitton has launched a game based on paying tribute to its founder. The players can find precious NFTs. Also, Coca-Cola and Friendship Box have released NFTs that made millions.
About Genie:
Genies aim to create a universal avatar system that can be used across an open metaverse. The avatars can be designed in Genies’ app. Moreover, the platform has started selling NFTs of exclusive designs to help users express themselves in a truly unique way.
