Ready Player Me, a startup platform that creates 3D avatars for usage in virtual worlds, has announced a $13 million Series A fundraising round. The company's goal is to become the "connective passport to the metaverse," allowing users to build personalized identities and travel across numerous virtual worlds while maintaining a constant appearance. Virtual apparel and accessories are also available on the platform.
The funds will be used to help the platform achieve its overarching aim of being the default metaverse avatar creation platform, which allows users to build unique avatars that are used across numerous apps, games, and other virtual platforms. GitHub co-founder Tom Preston-Werner, Samsung (KS:005930) Next, NordicNinja, Konvoy Ventures, NFT influencer Gmoney, and others contributed to the round led by Taavet+Sten, a firm owned by the respective co-founders of Wise and Teleport.
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The startup intends to use the new money to develop tools that will allow game developers to sell NFTs and in-game avatar customization items. Timmu Toke, CEO of Ready Player Me, alluded to such ambitions when he said: "We're currently working on a feature that will allow developers who use our platform to sell customization elements directly in their applications and games utilizing their existing in-app purchase solutions." As a result, creatives will generate money by selling NFTs in distinctive avatars, virtual fashion wear, accessories, and more using these monetization methods.
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According to Toke, 2021 was a watershed moment for the company, with the platform's adoption numbers increasing from 25 to 900. Ready Player I hopes to add more exciting elements to its avatar customization arsenals, such as NFT wearables and virtual fashion, with the help of funding rounds and other marketing initiatives like its previous collaboration with Head5, which saw a collaborative NFT drop from music industry figures deadmau5, Smearball, and Pixelynx.