Genies and King Records to Create AI Companions

- Genies, an AI avatar company founded in 2017, reached a $1 billion valuation following a $150 million Series C funding round in April 2022 led by Silver Lake. Former Disney CEO Bob Iger is an investor and joined the company's board in March 2022. - This partnership builds on Genies' existing relationships with major music labels, having already secured agreements with Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group to serve as their "official avatar and digital goods NFT provider". - The company holds a 99% market share for celebrity avatars and has created official virtual identities for artists like Justin Bieber, Rihanna, and Shawn Mendes. - King Records, founded in 1931 as a division of Japanese publisher Kodansha, is one of the country's largest independent record companies. It operates several sub-labels, including King Amusement Creative, which specializes in music and films for anime. - The collaboration is part of a broader industry trend using AI to deepen fan engagement by shifting from a one-to-many to a one-to-one relationship, offering fans personalized, 24/7 interaction with their favorite characters and artists. - Beyond music, Genies recently signed a deal with Major League Baseball Players Inc. to create an AI avatar for every player in the league, allowing fans to have conversations with virtual versions of their favorite athletes. - Genies provides a software development kit (SDK) that allows developers and partners to integrate its avatar technology into their own apps and games. The company's avatars are built to be visually expressive and emotionally responsive. - According to Genies CEO Akash Nigam, the goal is for avatar ecosystems to shape Web3 in the same way mobile apps defined Web2, empowering creators with full ownership and commercialization rights of their avatar creations.