Valued at $1B, the avatar ecosystem is said to shape "Web3 the same way mobile apps defined Web2."
The NFT market has been on an upswing for the past several months, with global companies and investors recognizing digital art as assets in high demand.
The latest investment into the NFT platform Genies was led by one of the largest crypto startup supporters Silver Lake, putting the company at a total valuation of $1 billion. Other backers of the Series C fund include Tamarack Global, BOND, and NEA.
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With the recent injection of funds, Genies will accelerate the growth of its native avatar creation tools by bringing in more developers and will continue to roll out new ways of creative expression.
Genies allows creators to launch their own non-fungible token ecosystems in the form of avatars, which are fully customizable within the platform’s toolset. The platform has its own marketplace called The Warehouse, powered by Dapper Labs, where users can put their collections up for sale.
CEO of Genies Akash Nigam spoke on the future of Web3 avatars, stating:
"With every advancement of the internet, an expansive new region of entrepreneurial skill sets is born. In Web3, Gen Z avatar ecosystem builders are going to be the leaders of innovation and, through our creator tools, we strive to empower their wildest imaginations, ideas, and experiences as avatar creations."
Likewise, the co-CEO of Silver Lake Egon Durban commented on the investment, highlighting that "avatar ecosystems" will be the "next evolution of human expressions, communication and creativity."
