Established in 2014, Outlier Ventures is one of the first VC firms dedicated to investing in the emerging crypto ecosystem. Since launching its Base Camp accelerator in 2019, Outlier Ventures has received over 5,000 applications for its highly sought after virtual accelerator and has helped raise over $350 million in seed funding for its growing portfolio of 220+ high-profile projects from across the world, such as Crucible and Biconomy. In addition, Outlier Ventures has supported the launch and growth of several billion-dollar crypto economies including Fetch.ai, Boson Protocol, Secret Network, Blox Move, Swash and DIA Data. Their portfolio includes notable projects across DeFi, NFTs and blockchain infrastructure with a focus on emergent Metaverse use cases such as NFT-based digital couture fashion brands, avatar marketplaces, decentralized music publishing platforms, play-to-earn games, augmented reality social positioning protocols, and more. Outlier Ventures has expanded its Base Camp program to partner with leading protocols such as Aptos, Filecoin / IPFS, Polygon, and Polkadot along with FARFETCH, to host dedicated accelerator programs for these Web3 ecosystems along with Ascent, Outlier Ventures’ advisory offering targeted at later stage teams. Through its blockchain agnostic approach, Outlier Ventures has achieved record growth, doubled its cohort intake year after year, and is on target to accelerate well over 100 startups in 2022, making it one of the most active investors in the space by deal volume and the most active Web3 accelerator globally and top 3 crypto investor globally by volume of investment. Since its inception, Outlier Ventures has always viewed its portfolio as an open stack of technologies that contribute to a new web paradigm, referred to as Web3, based on principles that prioritize the sovereignty of the user, their data and digital wealth, over platform and shareholder supremacy. In January of 2021, Outlier Ventures published its thesis on the imminent arrival of the Metaverse, outlining how Web3 would serve as an operating system for an Open Metaverse.

Outlier Ventures

Blockchange Ventures is a venture capital firm investing exclusively in early-stage blockchain companies, protocols, and applications that are trying to make a dent in the universe.

Blockchange Ventures

Decasonic is the venture and digital assets fund building blockchain innovation.

Decasonic

Super Ventures believes that Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and Mixed Reality are giving people real superpowers and are on a mission to accelerate industry growth. The Super Ventures fund invests in early stage startups developing solutions that augment the human experience using AR, VR, and MR.

Super Ventures

Accord Ventures is a venture capital firm that believes in and supports the potential of Asian entrepreneurs. It has invested in more than 50 startups in Japan, the United States, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, and new technologies that bring new value to society, such as IoT, AI, and fintech, with a focus on platform businesses that utilize IT technology. And new services are supported.

Accord Ventures

Anfield Capital Management provides financial advisors with long-term capital appreciation through unconstrained core investment strategies.

Anfield Capital Management

Abies Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on investing in early-stage deep tech startups.

Abies Ventures

Primal Capital is an early stage and growth investor in Web3 and emerging technology companies. Our current portfolio consists of 50+ investments in Web3 & blockchain applications focused on consumer and enterprise adoption.

Primal Capital

Mawari

Mawari, Inc. is a pioneer in cloud rendering and streaming technology for interactive AR experiences. Mawari provides an AR-focused streaming SDK that renders 3D content in the cloud and delivers it efficiently to devices. Core to the AR Streaming SDK is Mawari’s unique, patent-pending compression technology that minimizes the weight of 3D content and enables real-time rendering and streaming to smartphones and AR glasses.

Mawari specializes in cloud streaming technology for AR applications, using machine learning, compression, and blockchain technologies to enable real-time rendering and streaming to AR glasses and smartphones through its Mawari Network and decoding algorithm. Mawari’s solutions solve the requirement of XR devices needing to have in-built high-end graphics processing capabilities. In December 2021, it announced that its 3DXR Content Streaming Platform would be available on the AWS Marketplace from 2022 onward, utilizing AWS Wavelength to minimize latency.

Technologies bringing about a new reality

Extended Reality

Mawari is a pioneer in cloud rendering and XR streaming technologies, focusing on solving the challenges of delivering high-quality, interactive 3D content to mobile devices and XR wearables at scale. The company has developed a proprietary technology stack called the Mawari Engine, which includes patent-pending split rendering frameworks and 3D streaming CODECs. This technology allows for efficient rendering and streaming of interactive 3D content in real-time to mobile XR devices.

Mawari Launches Testnet in Japan as a GSMA Foundry Project

KDDI, Telefónica, Mawari and Sturfee Revolutionize Online Shopping With the 5G MEC Powered XR Digital Twin Store Project in Alignment With GSMA Foundry Telco Edge Cloud (TEC) Trials Initiative

Mawari Inc - Membership

Mawari's 20 Billion Dollar Codec

Mawari Raises $6.5 Million For Dual Compute Network

Mawari Raises $6.5M in seed funding to build decentralized XR streaming network

Mawari 2024

Abies Ventures announces its investment in Mawari Corp.

Imbuing emotion into human-digital interactions

Digital Humans

Mawari Network offers a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) that enables the real-time rendering and streaming of 3D content to spatial computing devices, such as AR/VR headsets. This network leverages GPU nodes globally to deliver 3D content with low latency. The network features patent-pending 3D streaming CODEC and split rendering technology, which can reportedly significantly reduce bandwidth requirements by compressing 4 GB streams to 10–14 MB per second.&nbsp;

Bringing the benefits of blockchain to the enterprise

Enterprise Blockchain Solutions

Mawari announces Node sale to bring immersive content to the world

Mawari specializes in cloud streaming technology for AR applications, using machine learning, compression, and blockchain technologies to enable real-time rendering and streaming to AR glasses and smartphones through its Mawari Network and decoding algorithm. Mawari’s solutions solve the requirement of XR devices needing to have in-built high-end graphics processing capabilities. In December 2021, it announced that its 3DXR Content Streaming Platform would be available on the AWS Marketplace from 2022 onward, utilizing AWS Wavelength to minimize latency.Mawari graduated from the T-Mobile accelerator program in 2022 and integrated its streaming technology with Qualcomm's Snapdragon Spaces. For the 2023–2024 timeframe, Mawari had plans to launch the Mawari TestNet in collaboration with an initial group of distribution partners in three different geographic regions with various use cases, such as engineering education, medical education, sports, entertainment, and real-estate visualization.Mawari generates revenue from content providers' usage of the Mawari Network, with Mawari Network delivery partners receiving a share of that revenue.Key customers and partnershipsKey customers include Qualcomm, BMW, 8th Wall, Ericsson, Niantic, T-Mobile, and Sapporo Breweries.In February 2023, Mawari partnered with Japan’s second-largest telecommunications company KDDI, which saw KDDI joining the Mawari Network Testnet in Japan to explore use cases for the consumer and entertainment verticals using XR wearables. Mawari previously partnered with KDDI to provide Mawari’s 3D XR Content Streaming platform to KDDI’s Digital-Human Guide. The company also partnered with T-Mobile to utilize its XR Streaming SDK to remove the rendering burden from T-Mobile’s edge servers.Funding and financialsIn <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16280">February 2023 </a>, Mawari raised USD 3.5 million in a seed financing round co-led by Blockchain Ventures and Decasonic.

Mawari specializes in cloud streaming technology for AR applications, using machine learning, compression, and blockchain technologies to enable real-time rendering and streaming to AR glasses and smartphones through its Mawari Network and decoding algorithm. Mawari’s solutions solve the requirement of XR devices needing to have in-built high-end graphics processing capabilities. In December 2021, it announced that its 3DXR Content Streaming Platform would be available on the AWS Marketplace from 2022 onward, utilizing AWS Wavelength to minimize latency.Mawari graduated from the T-Mobile accelerator program in 2022 and integrated its streaming technology with Qualcomm's Snapdragon Spaces. For the 2023–2024 timeframe, Mawari had plans to launch the Mawari TestNet in collaboration with an initial group of distribution partners in three different geographic regions with various use cases, such as engineering education, medical education, sports, entertainment, and real-estate visualization.Mawari generates revenue from content providers' usage of the Mawari Network, with Mawari Network delivery partners receiving a share of that revenue.Key customers and partnershipsKey customers include Qualcomm, BMW, 8th Wall, Ericsson, Niantic, T-Mobile, and Sapporo Breweries.In February 2023, Mawari partnered with Japan’s second-largest telecommunications company KDDI, which saw KDDI joining the Mawari Network Testnet in Japan to explore use cases for the consumer and entertainment verticals using XR wearables. Mawari previously partnered with KDDI to provide Mawari’s 3D XR Content Streaming platform to KDDI’s Digital-Human Guide. The company also partnered with T-Mobile to utilize its XR Streaming SDK to remove the rendering burden from T-Mobile’s edge servers.

Interplay Learning (Interplay) provides on-demand, interactive, and hands-on simulation learning courses for skilled trades, including HVAC, plumbing, electrical, solar, and facilities maintenance, through VR, mobile, and desktop applications. The learning courses also include simulated walkthrough videos where experts lead users through procedure guides methodically, with knowledge testing features and additional learning material such as wiring diagrams, equations, sample system configs, and charts at the end of each lesson. The platform also enables managers to track user progress.The company operates a subscription-based model with monthly packages for individuals (USD 54) and teams (USD 229), alongside a custom plan for larger organizations.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/33810">September 2024</a>, the company acquired Industrial Training International (ITI), enabling the company to provide immersive simulation training solutions for crane and rigging operations across various job sites.Key customers and partnershipsNotable customers include Tesla and Rheem Manufacturing. Interplay’s customer usage rose by 445% YoY in 2020. As of February 2021, the platform had over 2,000 customers and 110,000 users across the US.

Interplay Learning

Switzerland-based WayRay develops holographic AR technology and hardware for the automobile sector. Its technology is used in head-up displays (HUDs) that project images into a driver’s field of vision to assist with navigation. Although its initial focus was on developing HUDs that can be purchased and installed in any vehicle, it has since pivoted to producing embedded HUD systems (i.e., hardware built into vehicles). WayRay’s HUDs are considered to provide a wider field of vision and combine data (location and mapping information) with vision data to generate images by projecting a laser beam through a Picture Generating Unit (PGU) onto a Holographic Optical Element (HOE).&nbsp;In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18537">May 2023</a>, WayRay announced integration of its AR displays into Tesla Model 3's in Switzerland, with plans to follow shortly afterwards in the US. Previously, in September 2021 the company launched its deep reality system that replaces the traditional car dashboard. In addition, WayRay launched “The Holograktor” dubbed the first “metaverse on wheels”, which can be driven conventionally or using a remote control via a 5G and satellite connection (November 2021).&nbsp;The company’s founder and CEO, Vitaly Ponomarev, identified that its systems are more advanced, backed by more patents, and potentially 20x smaller than comparable devices in the market. WayRay’s HQ in Switzerland also acts as a product design and development hub, while its R&amp;D center and prototyping factory are based in Russia.&nbsp;Key customers and partnershipsThe company is backed by strategic investors such as luxury automaker Porsche, which highlighted the management’s expertise in space engineering, hardware, and software development as key reasons for its investment, Hyundai Motor Co., and Alibaba. It is also notable that these investors, particularly Hyundai, are looking at ways to potentially use WayRay’s technology to offer more services in the future. For instance, Hyundai believed that the technology could be used for smart cities and smart buildings, which are its new areas of interest.WayRay partnered with Karma Automotive, a producer of luxury electric vehicles, in December 2021 to support the implementation of its HUDs into their test fleet. Moreover, it partnered with a leader in designing and manufacturing specialty glass, AGP eGlass, in September 2021 to further proliferate its technology.&nbsp; Funding and financialsIt was reported in April 2021 that the company is considering a public listing at a USD 2 billion valuation via a SPAC, although no further updates on this have been announced as at January 2024.&nbsp;

WayRay

AmazeVR initially focused on developing VR technologies but pivoted to VR concerts in late 2019. The concerts are backed by proprietary 9K cameras and software that automate complex VR concert visual effects that run on more than 100 headsets simultaneously. Users join and hang out with other users as avatars while experiencing VR concerts. It intends to bring VR concerts by major artists to theaters and eventually, homes.AmazeVR rolled out its first commercial VR concert, which will feature 3x Grammy winner Megan Thee Stallion, in 2022. The artist is expected to tour select AMC Theaters across the US. It is also in the final stages of closing deals with its second and third artists. AmazeVR also revealed plans to release weekly content by 2024 in theaters and for at-home viewers.In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20145">July 2023</a>, AmazeVR launched its official AmazeVR Concerts app, featuring an exclusive VR concert from Swedish pop star, Zara Larsson. The app is available on major VR app stores, and the exclusive Zara Larsson VR concert can be accessed for a year at a launch price of USD 6.99. AmazeVR also produces and monetizes VR content on a subscription basis.As of August 2023, the company was in the process of producing and releasing mixed reality concerts by overlaying virtual elements onto live, real-world video.Funding and financialsThe company’s most recent funding was in <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/13338">September 2022</a>, when it raised USD 17 million in a Series B funding round led by Mirae Asset Capital. The fresh funds were allocated to expand partnerships with artists, artist management companies, labels, publishers, and agencies.

AmazeVR

Dispelix, based in Finland, designs and manufactures single-layer, full-color waveguide displays, a thin (about 1mm) transparent element that takes in a projected image and relays it to the eye, using a nanophotonics-based approach catering to AR applications (e.g., smart glasses). It uses laser beam scanning technology to render laser-sharp images with a gamut of color palettes, which are displayed using beam-combiner technology. Its patented and proprietary approach includes diffractive surface relief gratings, which are elements used for high-power laser applications, fabricated on high refractive index glass wafers that enhance field-of-view and image quality.The company had a total of more than 40 granted or pending patent families as of November 2021. Its product line, Dispelix DPX, includes Dispelix DPX - Ohut, Dispelix DPX - Selva, and Dispelix DPX - Sade with a varying degree of field of view, form factor, and weight. According to Co-Founder and CTO Juuso Olkkonen, its displays are the lightest and thinnest in the market.Key customers and partnerships 1) Collins Aerospace: to integrate Dispelix's advanced AR displays into Collins Aerospace's products (November 2024)2) Foxconn and Pegatron: to create reference designs for AR glasses based on its Selvä waveguide display (October 2023)&nbsp;3) VividQ: created a “waveguide combiner” which accurately displays variable-depth 3D content in a user’s environment (January 2023)4) ColorChip and Maradin: To further Light Beam Scanning (LBS) solutions for AR glasses (October 2022)5) Jade Bird Displays: To develop multiple reference designs for AR devices (June 2022)6) AAC Technologies: To improve waveguide displays for the AR and MR industry (March 2022)7) OQmented: for the development and commercialization of MEMS-based LBS technology (November 2021)8) Coretronic: To develop a range of AR optical module solutions (December 2020)9) Hoya Corporation: To improve quality of waveguide displays (November 2020)Funding and financialsIn its most recent funding round (November 2021), Dispelix raised USD 33 million in a Series B funding round co-led by Atlantic Bridge, CCB Trust, and Flashpoint with participation from Lifeline Ventures, VTT Ventures, and 3M Ventures. The funds were allocated to product development. It revealed that several OEM customers were slated to integrate its technology into their consumer offerings by 2023.&nbsp;

Dispelix

DigiLens is a developer of holographic waveguides, which is a clear, thin piece of glass or plastic, used for AR devices. In January 2023, the company launched ARGO, an XR smartglass designed for enterprise and industrial use, the first AR device to utilize Qualcomm’s SnapDragon XR2 platform. Other specifications included 6-degrees of freedom (6-DoF) tracking, a 30-degree field-of-view, spatial audio, a 48MP RGB camera, voice and gaze recognition, access to real-time data visualizations, and a 2,500-nits HD display.&nbsp;The company’s first product, the DigiLens Crystal was introduced in 2019, was a thin-film laser-etched photopolymer embedded with microscopic holograms of mirror-like optics. By projecting a micro display to one end of the lens and another set of optics working to guide the light wave toward the eye, this proved to be an ideal piece of hardware for AR devices, which are preferred with as little hardware as possible.&nbsp;It claims that its patented optical platform and photopolymer technology coupled with a holographic copy manufacturing process enable it to produce cheaper and more scalable solutions. In <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17598">April 2023</a>, the company announced the launch of SRG+, a surface relief gratings product that improves upon its waveguide technology.The company generates revenue by licensing its technology across a range of industries including the automobile, enterprise, consumer, avionics, and military sectors. DigiLens also offers a white-label solution for automotive companies whereby it creates holographic waveguides for windshields that could offer in-cabin experiences for drivers.&nbsp;&nbsp; Key customers and partnershipsKey partnerships include that with1) Phantom Technologies: - Phantom Technology: To integrate Phantom's CASSI Spatial AI assistant into the DigiLens ARGO glasses, providing features such as spatial search, a contextual assistant, and task management using voice commands (October 2023)2) Wisear: To integrate its neural interface-powered earphones with the ARGO smart glasses (May 2023)3) Mojo Vision: To utilize Mojo Vision's micro-LED technology to build improved AR glasses (May 2023)4) Taqtile: To integrate the company's ARGO smart glasses with Taqtile's AR work platform, Manifest (May 2023)5) OMNIVISION: To develop new XR product offerings (January 2023)Other partnerships include that with OMNIVISION (January 2023), a leading global developer of semiconductor solutions to develop new XR product offerings. OMNIVISION’s liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) panels allowed DigiLens to build LCOS/LED projectors optimized for its holographic waveguides. OMNIVISION's core camera technology provides DigiLens' devices with features such as visual odometry and six degrees of freedom.&nbsp;DigiLens also works with Taiwanese licensed waveguide manufacturer Young Optics, Chinese original design manufacturer and electronics supplier Malata, Korean display manufacturer Sekonix, international technology company Continental, Chinese optical elements manufacturer Crystal Optech, and Mitsubishi Chemical.&nbsp;Funding and financialsIn April 2022, DigiLens announced the second close of its Series D funding round (intiial close in November 2021) in which it raised USD 50 million at a valuation of USD 530 million. The funds were allocated for the development of DesignV1, its second-generation product.

DigiLens

Companies developing XR headsets and relevant sub-components (displays, sensors, and processors). Also includes complementary XR hardware (tracking devices, haptic vests, and gloves)

Companies offering engines that enable the development of AR/VR content, also includes companies offering capabilities to capture and create 3D images for immersive environments

Companies offering AR/VR solutions or toolkits for specific industry applications, including VR game developers

Companies offering location-based AR/VR experiences

AR/VR platforms offer remote assistance to field experts and headset manufacturers facilitate virtual work

Some solutions in the "content" segment are offered under a B2B SaaS model

Headsets and content segments provide the building blocks for the metaverse

AR, VR, and MR are the primary enabling technologies for the XR industry

Mawari is a pioneer in cloud rendering and XR streaming technologies, focusing on solving the challenges of delivering high-quality, interactive 3D content to mobile devices and XR wearables at scale. The company has developed a proprietary technology stack called the Mawari Engine, which includes patent-pending split rendering frameworks and 3D streaming CODECs. This technology allows for efficient rendering and streaming of interactive 3D content in real-time to mobile XR devices.
At the core of Mawari's offering is its XR-focused streaming software development kit (SDK) that leverages cloud computing to render complex 3D content and deliver it to various devices. The company's unique compression technology significantly reduces the size and weight of 3D content, enabling real-time rendering and streaming to smartphones and AR glasses without compromising quality or speed.
Mawari's solution addresses a critical bottleneck in the XR industry by enabling scalable delivery of consumer-grade XR content to large numbers of devices simultaneously. The company has introduced the Mawari Network, a decentralized 3D & XR content delivery platform that orchestrates a network of GPU-powered nodes to break infrastructure bottlenecks for real-time rendering and overcome the lack of local compute power on XR devices.
In February 2023, Mawari launched a Testnet in Japan as part of a GSMA Foundry Project, showcasing the world's first Web3, decentralized XR content delivery platform that scales real-time 3D rendering and streaming to XR wearable devices via 5G. The company has also explored use cases in various industries, including retail, entertainment, and education.
Key customers and partnerships
Mawari has established partnerships with several major companies in the telecommunications and technology sectors. Japanese telecommunications giant KDDI Corporation joined the Mawari Network Testnet in Japan, providing edge rendering, validating, and storage nodes, as well as last-mile 5G network connectivity. The company has also collaborated with Telefónica, demonstrating the potential of XR technologies in creating a sense of co-presence for online shopping experiences.
Mawari's technology has been validated through over 40 deployments worldwide, working with clients and partners such as 8th Wall, BMW, Ericsson, KDDI, Immersal, Niantic, Qualcomm, Sapporo Breweries, and T-Mobile. The company has also partnered with Qualcomm Technologies to utilize the Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer Platform for exploring use cases in consumer and entertainment verticals.
In the entertainment sector, Mawari has supported projects like the annual Mutek Japan event, where it facilitated the real-time transmission of high-fidelity content for an immersive XR dance performance. The company has also worked on solutions for VTubers (Virtual Avatars), aiming to enhance immersive and interactive connections between digital personalities and their audiences.

Inworld AI is a developer platform for creating AI-driven virtual characters for gaming, metaverse, and interactive experiences. Founded in July 2021 by Ilya Gelfenbeyn, Michael Ermolenko, and Kylan Gibbs, the company offers a Character Engine that uses advanced AI to build generative characters with personalities, thoughts, memories, and behaviors designed to mimic human interaction. Inworld's no-code studio allows writers, designers, and creators to easily develop AI characters that can be integrated into popular game engines like Unreal and Unity.
The company's technology goes beyond existing large language models and chatbots, orchestrating multiple machine learning models to enable multimodal character expression. Inworld's AI characters can learn, adapt, navigate relationships with emotional intelligence, have memory and recall, and autonomously initiate goals and actions. This allows for more dynamic and immersive experiences compared to traditional scripted non-player characters (NPCs) in games and virtual worlds. As of August 2023, Inworld AI had raised approximately USD 120 million in funding and was valued at over USD 500 million. The company plans to launch an open-source version of its Character Engine to further innovation in the gaming industry.
Key customers and partnerships
Inworld AI has worked with several notable companies and projects to implement its AI character technology. The company has created AI-driven NPC experiences for Team Miaozi (NetEase Games), Niantic 8th Wall, LG UPlus, and Alpine Electronics. Inworld's technology has also been used in community-created mods for popular games like Skyrim, Stardew Valley, and Grand Theft Auto V. In 2022, as part of the Disney Accelerator program, Inworld demonstrated a 'Droid Maker' prototype created in collaboration with ILM Immersive. The company's Character Engine is featured in Unity's AI Marketplace as a Unity Verified Solution, and Inworld has received an Epic MegaGrant from Epic Games. Additionally, Inworld AI has integrated its technology with Unreal Engine's MetaHumans to enhance character creation capabilities.

Inworld AI

Soul Machines, founded in 2016 by Greg Cross and Academy Award winner Mark Sagar, develops hyper-realistic, autonomously animated digital people powered by its proprietary Biological AI technology and Digital Brain. The company's platform enables the creation of AI-driven avatars that can interact with users in real-time through natural language processing and emotional responses. The Digital Brain contains layers of AI-driven reciprocal human systems that simulate the human nervous system, enabling realistic emotional responses and dynamic conversations. Through its Soul Machines Studio platform, users can design and deploy customized digital people that integrate with GPT 3 and four to create engaging AI experiences. As of March 2024, the average conversation length with a Soul Machines Digital Person is 20 minutes. The company offers various subscription plans ranging from a free tier to a USD 2,700 per month professional plan. In September 2023, Julie Kim replaced Greg Cross as CEO, and Mark Sagar departed his role as Chief Scientific Officer in June 2024. The company's headcount reduced from 253 in July 2023 to 70 in July 2024.
Key customers and partnerships
Soul Machines has collaborated with several major organizations including the World Health Organization, Heineken, Walden University, BankABC, and Morningstar. In the entertainment sector, Soul Machines has partnered with celebrities to create digital twins, including basketball player Carmelo Anthony, golf legend Jack Nicklaus, and K-pop star Mark Tuan. In March 2024, the company partnered with Authentic Brands Group to launch Digital Marilyn, an AI-powered version of Marilyn Monroe.

Soul Machines

DeepBrain AI is a deep-learning-based video synthesis company specializing in AI-generated virtual humans. The company's flagship product, AI Studios, enables users to create high-definition videos featuring virtual humans by simply typing a script. DeepBrain AI's technology utilizes real-time artificial intelligence and video synthesis to generate realistic human-like AI avatars, reducing the cost and time of video production while improving digital engagement quality. The platform offers over 100 AI avatars proficient in more than 80 languages and voices, catering to diverse ethnicities and professions.
DeepBrain AI's solutions have applications across various industries, including media, finance, commerce, hospitality, and education. In March 2023, the company launched AI Studios 2.0, integrating ChatGPT for enhanced script generation. This release contributed to a 900% revenue growth for the quarter and a 533% increase in the user base. DeepBrain AI also introduced AI Interview in May 2023, combining generative AI video with OpenAI's large language model to streamline the interview screening process. The company's technology has been utilized in innovative ways, such as creating an AI avatar for a person diagnosed with ALS to help them communicate and stay connected.
As of July 2023, DeepBrain AI reported significant growth, doubling its US team size over the previous year. The company has established partnerships with major technology firms, joining the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Partner Network and becoming part of Lenovo's AI Innovator partner ecosystem. DeepBrain AI's commitment to innovation has been recognized with multiple awards, including the CES Innovation Awards in 2022 and 2023.

DeepBrain AI

Digital Domain is a renowned visual effects company founded in 1993 by film director James Cameron, visual effects pioneer Scott Ross, and make-up effects creator Stan Winston. The company specializes in creating visual effects for feature films, television, and other media. Digital Domain has worked on over 500 films, including blockbusters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Dune franchise, and award-winning productions like Titanic and RRR. The company has earned three Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects and has contributed to six of the top 20 highest-grossing films globally.
Digital Domain's technology portfolio includes Masquerade, a facial motion capture system used in films like Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. In April 2024, the company introduced Masquerade3, an advanced markerless facial capture technology that eliminates the need for tracking markers on actors' faces. This innovation aims to streamline production processes, reduce costs, and improve the quality of facial animations.
The company is expanding its focus beyond entertainment, exploring applications of its technology in sectors such as banking, education, elderly services, and tourism. In July 2024, Digital Domain announced plans to invest USUSD 26 million in a new research and development center at Hong Kong Science Park. This facility will concentrate on developing AI-powered virtual humans and advancing AI video production technology.
Despite its technological achievements, Digital Domain has faced financial challenges. After declaring bankruptcy in 2012, the company was acquired by Hong Kong-based Sun Innovation Holdings. In 2023, Digital Domain reported a 23% decline in revenue and a 45% decrease in gross profit compared to the previous year, resulting in its ninth consecutive year of financial losses.

Digital Domain

ObEN is an artificial intelligence company specializing in the creation of Personal AI (PAI) technology. Founded in 2014 and based in Pasadena, California, ObEN develops customized, intelligent digital avatars that can mimic the appearance, voice, and behavior of real individuals. The company's technology allows for the creation of digital likenesses capable of speaking in the user's voice in multiple languages, using only a small sample of speech and image data. These digital personas, known as PAIs, can be utilized in various applications including smartphone apps, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), gaming, and social networking.
ObEN's full-stack AI technology enables the rapid generation of 3D avatars from 2D selfies, complete with voice conversion capabilities and chatbot features. The company's products allow users and brands to create intelligent digital personas that can be customized to represent any person or character imaginable. ObEN's PAI Studio SaaS platform enables creators, enterprises, and developers to build, manage, and monetize unique interactive experiences using conversational, animated PAIs. This technology facilitates the economical generation of livestream, interactive, or video content.
Key customers and partnerships
ObEN has collaborated with several high-profile clients and partners. In February 2020, the company announced a partnership with Yoshimoto Kogyo, a major Japanese entertainment conglomerate, to bring AI-powered avatar technology to the Japanese market. This collaboration aimed to combine Yoshimoto's entertainment and celebrity IP with ObEN's avatar technology to revolutionize digital interactions between celebrities and fans.
ObEN has also worked with China Central Television (CCTV), creating AI avatars that appeared on the Network Spring Festival Gala in February 2019, which was viewed by nearly 300 million people. ObEN has developed celebrity avatars for Chinese music group SNH48 and formed a joint venture called AI Stars with S.M. Entertainment, Korea's largest entertainment company. This venture aims to connect celebrities with their fans through personalized AI avatars. Additionally, ObEN has worked on projects for investors and clients including SoftBank and NBA stars, demonstrating the wide-ranging applications of its technology across various industries.

ObEN

Digital humans that engage in two-way conversations for customer service and employee training

Digital humans that deliver responsive interactions for virtual events, social media, and entertainment

Interactive digital humans for applications in education, fashion, sports, and others

Digital humans for one-way customer and employee communications, including presentations, training modules, or informational videos, and the like

Digital humans as characters in movies, news reporting, virtual events, and television shows without two-way user interaction

Digital humans as characters for video games without two-way user interaction

Digital humans for applications in fashion, education, sports, and others without two-way user interaction

Several digital humans are integrated with GenAI models

NLP is used by digital humans to understand, process, and generate natural language

AI and ML are used in digital humans to process data and generate responses

Digital humans can be deployed in the metaverse for a variety of purposes, such as virtual customer service, virtual events, and virtual social interactions.

Mawari Network offers a decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) that enables the real-time rendering and streaming of 3D content to spatial computing devices, such as AR/VR headsets. This network leverages GPU nodes globally to deliver 3D content with low latency. The network features patent-pending 3D streaming CODEC and split rendering technology, which can reportedly significantly reduce bandwidth requirements by compressing 4 GB streams to 10–14 MB per second.&nbsp;Moreover, the company also provides a proprietary Spatial Streaming SDK, which integrates with 3D development environments such as Unity and Unreal Engine. The company also announced plans to conduct a node license sale in Q4 2024.As of September 2024, the company reported having three patents, with 12 more pending, related to 3D streaming technology. To further decentralize and scale its network, the company planned to conduct a node license sale in Q4 2024.Key customers and partnershipsAs of September 2024, the company reported having over 50 deployments for enterprise clients, such as T-Mobile, Netflix, BMW, Sapporo, and KDDI.&nbsp;In February 2023, Mawari added KDDI Corporation, a Japanese telecom company, to its network testnet in Japan to explore use cases for the consumer and entertainment verticals using XR wearables. The partnership saw KDDI providing Edge rendering, validating, storage nodes, and last-mile 5G network support. The company has also worked with Qualcomm, integrating its technology with the Snapdragon Spaces XR Developer Platform to remove the rendering burden from T-Mobile’s Edge servers.&nbsp;

BlockCypher is an enterprise company specializing in blockchain technology. The company’s cloud-based platform helps enterprises build blockchain applications with web APIs and callbacks. BlockCypher's APIs enable users to interact with multiple blockchains and retrieve data from blocks, receive notifications about unconfirmed transactions, and request multiple signature transactions​.In terms of product offerings, BlockCypher's primary service is its cloud-based platform. The platform's design is blockchain-universal, enabling its compatibility with any blockchain. This versatility permits BlockCypher to support numerous enterprise scenarios, including supply chain oversight, financial transactions, and record maintenance.Key customers and partnershipsBlockCypher and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) partnered in June 2018 to showcase secure peer-to-peer energy transactions using the blockchain, forming the foundation for a distributed energy marketplace. This collaboration opens up new value streams for customers and utilities by reducing the need for a central arbitrator.

BlockCypher

Bloq's products are designed to accelerate blockchain development and deployment, catering to individual developers, startups, and enterprises. Focusing on enterprises, the company’s solutions are offered through the Bloq platform, which includes tools for exchanges, wallets, data and analytics, and custody providers.The company provides managed blockchain cloud services that consist of three primary services: Connect, Nodes, and Stake. Connect is a blockchain API service that accelerates the development of real-time connectivity to popular blockchain networks and access to additional blockchain data services. Nodes offers private, fully managed clusters of nodes to access popular public blockchain networks. Stake provides infrastructure and API endpoints to allow users to create validators and start staking, with support for Ethereum and Avalanche networks​​.Key customers and partnershipsThe company's timeline of innovation includes major milestones such as delivering Fidelity’s first bitcoin wallet in 2016, launching BloqLabs in 2017, and working with Citibank on a Universal Node for digital assets in 2018. In recent years, Bloq has launched BloqCloud, a managed node and API service. It also partnered with Lumerin project to tokenize hashpower and founded Atmos Labs to develop metaverse-native sports​​.Bloq’s key enterprise customers include Discover, Citigroup, Foxconn, Barclays, Fidelity, and Circle.

Bloq

Dragonchain offers a blockchain-based, language-agnostic enterprise solutions that includes a Learning Management System. Some of the solutions include 1) Lyceum, which provides traceable proof-of-course progress, completion, scoring, continuing education units, and certification, along with a GDPR- and CCPA-capable identity management platform; 2) Factor, which enables secure PII storage and streamlined authentication; and 3) A FinTech suite that supports regulatory compliance. Dragonchain’s products are quantum-safe and the proof of every transaction is secured to bitcoin, Ethereum, and other blockchain networks.In January 2020, Dragonchain was able to execute over 260 million transactions on a business system in just 24 hours. The test was run on 520 active nodes with a utilization rate of below 2%; it was estimated that at full capacity, the platform could execute approximately 13 billion transactions.The company’s solutions can be used across a range of industries, including healthcare, FinTech, government, and supply chain management. Most use cases focus on using the platform for information gathering and management, with a priority on accurate and real-time information availability.Key customers and partnershipsThe company has worked with a range of customers including Snohomish County in the US, Beaxy, Knowledge Perk, and SafePass.

Dragonchain

BlockApps is a leading provider of blockchain solutions that helps businesses enhance transparency and trust in their transactions. BlockApps' key product, STRATO, is a BaaS platform compatible with Ethereum, which is designed for business network transactions and activities, adhering to the standards of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA). It can be deployed on multiple cloud providers, integrated with various systems, and is configurable for a range of business activities. It is primarily used for building business networks with a focus on enhancing security, performance, trust, and transparency. STRATO's capabilities include tokenizing real-world assets, incorporating transparency data, and creating value chain incentives. It offers a suite of features including data privacy controls, network governance, scalability, APIs for third-party integration, audit and reporting tools, data migration facilities, identity management using existing enterprise sign-on systems, consensus mechanisms, developer tools, application portability, and the ability to use existing enterprise data models.Key customers and partnershipsIn 2016, BlockApps collaborated with ConsenSys and BHP Billiton to deploy its first production application. In the same year, it built enterprise Proof of Concepts (POCs) with John Hancock and Upgraded (now Ticketmaster).BlockApps announced an initiative with ARC, United Airlines, and Blockskye in 2018 and also launched the STRATO platform on all major cloud providers by partnering with Google and Amazon Web Services.In September 2021, it launched TraceCarbon, a CO2 ecosystem management application, supporting sustainability traceability.Funding and financialsIn April 2022, BlockApps raised USD 41 million in funding through a round led by Liberty City Ventures. The company intended to use the funding to enhance its go-to-market strategy, expand its team, help businesses expand in its blockchain ecosystem, and bring more real assets to the STRATO platform.

BlockApps

Cryptowerk is an enterprise blockchain company that offers blockchain-as-a-service, allowing organizations to create a tamper-proof chain of custody for their digital assets and enabling them to prove authenticity at scale​​. Cryptowerk's solutions are used in multiple industries, including aerospace and defense, automotive, pharmaceuticals, software, and utilities​​.The company's primary product is Cryptowerk HORIZON. This software creates tamper-proof records of digital assets that can be sealed in public or private blockchains up to one million times per second. These digital "fingerprints" can then be compared to the original data to verify authenticity. Cryptowerk HORIZON is offered as a REST API. The product is available for cloud-based deployment and supports various organizations including midsize businesses, small businesses, enterprises, freelancers, nonprofits, and government entities​​.

Cryptowerk

Companies that offer blockchain-based solutions that enable users and companies to track price, date, location, quality, and other relevant information for supply chain management

Companies and protocols that leverage blockchain technology to act as content delivery networks (CDNs) or provide content sharing solutions

Companies that leverage blockchain technology to offer databases, query services and data sharing

Companies that offer blockchain-enabled Internet-of-Things (IoT) development platforms for building networks and transferring IoT device data

Companies that leverage blockchain to protect and manage digital intellectual property (IP) rights

Companies that leverage blockchain technology to provide cybersecurity and identity management solutions for enterprises

Companies and protocols that offer industry and context specific blockchain-based solutions for enterprise applications

The blockchain-as-a-service segment operates under a B2B SaaS model

Companies offering blockchain-enabled tools to build IoT networks/supply chain traceability solutions for smart factories

Includes companies that offer blockchain-enabled tools to build IoT networks and transfer IoT device data

All companies within this industry are either blockchain-based platforms or offer blockchain-centric services

ANALYST_QUICK_TAKE

<div>
 Mawari, an XR cloud streaming platform, has secured USD 10.8 million in a funding round that was spearheaded by Anfield LTD, Borderless Capital, and 1k(x). Other participants in the funding included Samsung Next, Animoca Brands Japan, as well as other institutional investors.
 Mawari plans to use the funding to sustain its technological superiority and to expand its spatial streaming SDK which is compatible with platforms like Unity and Unreal Engine. The company is also looking forward to selling node licenses to decentralize and expand its spatial computing network by Q4 2024.
</div> Analyst QuickTake: 
 The round builds on Mawari’s USD 6.5 million seed financing raised in <a href="https: 
//sp-edge.com/updates/16280"> February 2023 </a> . At the time, the company sought to expand its R&amp;D team and speed up the launch of its XR content delivery platform, the Mawari Network.

Mawari

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