Only in today’s market can one wonder how a celebrity avatar startup that sells NFT accessories took so long to reach a unicorn valuation.
Genies, a Los Angeles-based digital avatar startup, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $150 million in funding from Silver Lake, with participation from Bond, NEA and Tamarack Global. The trick was first reported by DealBook. It follows a $65 million Series B round raised last May.
The round values the startup at $1 billion.
Much of the startup’s momentum has come from its high-profile partnerships with a number of music and sports celebrities who have used the company’s avatars for social media posts and various other activations. Achieving their high expectations as investors will depend on bringing more developers into their ecosystem and expanding the user base.
Since their Series B, Genies have delved deeper into the Web3 craze, launching an NFT showcase with NBA Top Shot maker Dapper Labs. The startup is looking to capitalize on the momentum behind NFT profile picture collections and ENS (.eth) handles to create a network of NFT-based avatar identity products.
