Twitter Invests in Avatar Startup Facemoji

The Rise of Customizable Avatars and Facemoji's Seed Funding

Numerous avatar-focused startups have emerged in recent years, and the initial visions of their founders are largely aligning with reality. Apple demonstrates growing interest in avatar representations through Memoji, while Mark Zuckerberg aims to transform Facebook into a metaverse-centric company.

Facemoji's Plug-and-Play Avatar Technology

Platforms like Roblox, where users inhabit a virtual world and personalize their characters with digital accessories, are experiencing unprecedented popularity. Facemoji is developing a technology platform designed to simplify the integration of avatar systems into existing games and applications via its SDK.

The company recently secured $3 million in seed funding, led by Play Ventures, with additional investment from Twitter and Roosh Ventures, alongside contributions from several angel investors.

A Lightweight Solution for Developers

Facemoji’s approach centers on a streamlined rendering pipeline. The team highlights that many competitors rely on Unity plugins, which can be cumbersome for some developers. Furthermore, Facemoji offers a comprehensive and diverse library of avatar art assets that developers can readily utilize.

Many game developers desire the ability to create their own unique avatar systems without being tied to external networks. Previous avatar platforms often prioritized building a unified, cross-platform avatar experience – a metaverse in itself.

Focus on Developer Control

While beneficial for the platform and its users, this approach potentially limited opportunities for game creators. Facemoji believes that developers want control over their avatar systems and the associated platform opportunities.

The company doesn't foresee Apple opening up Memoji to external developers and identifies Snap as a more direct competitor. Acquisitions within the avatar space are accelerating; Roblox acquired Loom.ai in 2020, and Epic Games purchased HyperSense.

NFT Integration and the Future of Avatar Customization

Facemoji’s founders are closely monitoring the metaverse trend and the growing popularity of NFTs. They are currently developing plug-and-play NFT storefronts, enabling developers to allow users to purchase avatar accessories.

The startup views the early adoption of crypto-based profile pictures on Twitter as an indicator of broader consumer interest in avatar customization. According to Facemoji CEO Robin Raszka, “Ultimately, it boils down to ego. Avatars on Twitter is the prime real estate for showing off status, just like a Birkin bag.”

Twitter's Strategic Investment

Twitter’s investment is noteworthy, as the company rarely makes corporate investments. Facemoji’s team had preliminary discussions with Squad regarding avatar integration prior to Twitter’s acquisition of the screen-sharing app.

Twitter has also announced several NFT-related projects, and CEO Jack Dorsey has been a vocal supporter of startups in the blockchain space.

Expanding Avatar Use Cases

Beyond gaming, Facemoji envisions a future where individuals can seamlessly join Zoom meetings or attend online classes as avatars. The company hopes to normalize the use of live-action avatar overlays, shifting perceptions from novelty to a viable alternative to traditional video conferencing.