Metaverse Creators Co., Ltd.
Metaverse Creators raises 111.11 million yen in seed round
~ Strengthening the “Entertainment x Metaverse” business through procurement from Amuse, etc. ~
……
Metaverse Creators Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director: Kazuo Wakamiya, hereinafter referred to as the “Company”) has announced that in addition to a capital increase through third-party allotment with NES Venture Capital as the lead investor and new investors as underwriters. We raised a total of approximately 110 million yen in seed round funding through loans from financial institutions such as the Japan Finance Corporation. Funds managed by Amuse Co., Ltd., a general entertainment company, and SG Incubate, a CVC of the Western Gas Group, are participating in this round.From now on, by multiplying Metaverse with entertainment and real bases, we will expand from Japan to the world. We will accelerate the creation of content for this purpose.
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■Funding background and future developments
With the rapidly growing Metaverse market as a backdrop, our company launched Japan’s first production company specializing in Metaverse creators in April 2023. To date, we have created hit content globally with carefully selected members from top creators who are active on the front lines of the Metaverse, such as VRChat, Roblox, and ZEPETO. With this funding, we will further focus on collaboration with companies and revenue-sharing type content development, and create examples of using Metaverse. We also plan to strengthen our
organization by hiring CXO personnel. In addition, the two companies that have participated as new underwriters plan to collaborate not only on investment but also on the business side to accelerate the business.
1. Kulture Fund: Strengthen “Entertainment x Metaverse” through business collaboration in the entertainment field, including Amuse’s various IPs.
“Kulture Fund”, operated by Amuse Co., Ltd. and its subsidiary Kulture Co., Ltd., is a fund specializing in Web3 and Metaverse. Our mission is to create new entertainment for the world by strengthening investment in and collaboration with startups both domestically and internationally, fusing various IP and startup technologies. We will challenge new forms of entertainment, such as creating 3D avatars of content resources such as Amuse’s affiliated artists and various IPs and deploying them on the Metaverse, as well as expanding the rapidly growing Oshi economy on the Metaverse. .
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2. SG Incubate: Considering co-creation of “Real x Metaverse” in the northern Kyushu area, considered the gateway to Asia
SG Incubate is a CVC of the Seibu Gas Group based in northern Kyushu (Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kumamoto), and its strategic keywords are “local,” “sustainable,” and “future-oriented.” Additionally, northern Kyushu is an area that is attracting a lot of attention as the “gateway to Asia” and a hub for international business, including inbound tourism. In the future, we will consider co-creating a “Real x Metaverse” that combines the assets of the Seibu Gas Group, which is involved not only in the energy business but also in a wide range of businesses including real estate, food, nursing care, and leisure, and a metaverse that can be used anywhere. We will do so.
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■ Funding overview
Amount raised: 111.11 million yen
Procurement method: Third party allocation capital increase, financing Investors: NES Venture Capital, Kulture Fund, SG Incubate, University of Tokyo Founder’s Association Fund, Hiromi Okuda, Akinori Harada, Tatsuo Sakamoto
Financing: Japan Finance Corporation
Use of funds: Creating collaborative content with companies, strengthening the organization
■Metaverse market outlook
The world’s population of the Metaverse is estimated to be 400 million people in 2023, which has already exceeded the population of the United States, and is predicted to reach 700 million people in 2030 (*1). In particular, we believe there are two important keywords in the Metaverse market.
One is “UGC” (*2). The UGC metaverse, represented by VRChat, Roblox, and ZEPETO, is experiencing rapid growth, with users creating their own content and inventing new ways to play every day.
The other is the “Avatar Economy” (*3). Avatars are the identity of the Metaverse era, and communication through avatars has become even more common than physical communication, and is rapidly permeating Generation Z and Alpha generations. We believe that the avatar economy based on avatar social will drive the growth of the Metaverse market in the future.
*1: (Reference article) Metaverse market size forecast! What are your expectations for 2030 and future scenarios?
https://localsquare.co.jp/beyondworklabo/metaverse-market-size-projections/ 2: Abbreviation for “User Generated Content.” Content that is produced and disseminated by users who are consumers rather than companies. 3: The trend in 2022 is from D2C to D2A (Direct To Avatar). Battle for supremacy over the avatar economy
https://digital-shift.jp/startup_technology/220309
■Our track record to date Our strength is that our creators are Metaverse users (residents) themselves, so we are able to create content that accurately captures user needs, and we are also able to access the Metaverse user community through our creators.
In 2024, we will successively announce popular content that will record tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of visits globally in each UGC metaverse such as VRChat, Roblox, and ZEPETO within one month of release. Furthermore, in June 2024, we announced a
partnership with Anique, which produces goods for anime, manga, and game works and operates a digital collectibles business, and we have also started metaverse content using anime IP.
Among the hit content, avatar-based content is particularly big, such as “The Avatar Studio” in collaboration with Avatown in the United States, “Metapuri” announced in July 2024, and “Avatar NPC System” launched in August 2024. We’re getting a lot of feedback.
▼2024 content results
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■ Comments from investors
[Image 5: https://prtimes.jp/i/120256/16/resize/d120256-16-4312bdddba15e5ac1de9-4.jpg&s3=120256-16-05156fe8167f9fa9d8fbea3b36243814-390×390.jpg] ・Lead investor: NES Venture Capital Representative Director Nobuhiro Imagawa The Metaverse has great potential to completely change our lives and become a new social infrastructure.
Currently, we are only at the beginning of the transformation, and based on the artistic thinking and rich experience of Mr. Wakamiya, CEO of Metaverse Creators, we will elevate the creator
support/production business in the Metaverse market to an even more innovative model and support local communities. We believe in a future in which new value will spread throughout Japan, including Japan. We are also looking forward to the exciting challenge of the Metaverse realm with Mr. Wakamiya, who is full of humanity.
[Image 6: https://prtimes.jp/i/120256/16/resize/d120256-16-070af07201e516b6521d-6.jpg&s3=120256-16-e00050b75df1916b8ffffbbd2f9baf00-1200×1600.jpg] ・Senior Executive Officer of Amuse Co., Ltd. / Representative Director and CEO of Kulture Co., Ltd. Kosuke Shiraishi
In the Metaverse, a new culture and community is being formed in a completely new user experience, and we feel it has great potential from an entertainment perspective. Although the market is still in its infancy, I believe that the main players are the residents and creators of this world, and I strongly sympathized with the business model of Metaverse Creators, which focuses on that, and decided to invest in them. .
We are looking forward to taking on new initiatives that will please the residents of Metaverse by combining our existing entertainment business and IP with the knowledge of Metaverse Creators, led by Mr. Wakamiya.
[Image 7: https://prtimes.jp/i/120256/16/resize/d120256-16-776cd0d961aabee5b607-8.jpg&s3=120256-16-c783fe6406d56f4d7ddf441a853616a0-323×330.jpg] ・SG Incubate Co., Ltd. Investment Department Manager Omihiro Misumi Looking at Metaverse’s penetration among young people and its user population, we believe that it has a high possibility of growing as the next generation of the Internet in the future.
We have decided that Metaverse Creators, which is run by Mr. Wakamiya who understands the Metaverse and has extensive experience and ability to execute new businesses, has pioneered the business model of UGC creator production business and has judged that it will grow significantly in the future, so we have invested in it. We have decided.
We look forward to working together to explore future possibilities for business co-creation in the Metaverse field.
[Image 8: https://prtimes.jp/i/120256/16/resize/d120256-16-2445d208461068365ad4-6.jpg&s3=120256-16-bc6de1ffba1574d39aa60545baae321d-1858×2205.jpg] ・Yutaka Ito, UT Founder’s Association Investment Limited Partnership We believe that the production business has great potential as it has powerful creators in the Metaverse, which has the potential to deliver Japanese content globally. At the same time, I was attracted to Representative Wakamiya’s versatile background and invested in him. I feel the energy to explore new fields, including my activities as an art-thinking curator, my track record and experience in launching new businesses at NTT Docomo and DeNA, and supporting large companies. ・Angel investor
[Image 9: https://prtimes.jp/i/120256/16/resize/d120256-16-47fea9d25731effce013-4.jpg&s3=120256-16-64470f0c09969df786ef378e372fb1cd-400×400.jpg] ・Coalis General Partner Mr. Akinori Harada
Wakamiya-san and I were comrades who shared the same joys and sorrows in the same workplace, so I supported him. I’m looking forward to your challenge in the Metaverse realm. I wish you the best
[Image 10: https://prtimes.jp/i/120256/16/resize/d120256-16- E4CF3A99C72F2664E6BC-10.jpg
&s3=120256-16-bfc8d028393089E57E57E57E57E57E57E57e0 c16-2000×2668.jpg] ・With Group Co., Ltd. Representative Director Hiromi Okuda
We invested in Metaverse Creators because of their creator support system and our expectations for growth potential in the Metaverse field. We hope that their vision, which will lead the entire industry, will become the driving force that will change the way humans live in the future.
[Image 11: https://prtimes.jp/i/120256/16/resize/d120256-16-4a20b45974dd0fad6c9a-9.jpg&s3=120256-16-1f9358f9a5b107fafbf8b05e06ecabcf-586×586.jpg] ・Mr. Tatsuo Sakamoto
Why I invested: When I told my daughter, who is in elementary school, “There’s a president whose icon is a polar bear and whose businesses include Roblox and ZEPETO,” she said, “Invest!”
What we expect: Prove your daughter’s sourcing skills!
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■Representative message
Metaverse Creators Co., Ltd. CEO Kazuo Wakamiya
This first-in-class funding reflects our determination to become the global No. 1 Metaverse company. The Metaverse has a high affinity with “otaku culture” such as anime and games, and I am confident that Japan is an area where Japan will lead the global movement.
Furthermore, avatar social in the Metaverse has great potential to free humanity from physical constraints and create new forms of communities and economic spheres.
The Metaverse has the chaotic feel of the Internet around 2000, and after going through a period of disillusionment after becoming a buzzword, it has finally entered a period of substantial growth. With the support of investors who sympathized with our marketability, we have further accelerated our business towards the global market, and many Japanese creators have become among the world’s top creators, and Japan’s Metaverse IP has become a global leader. We will create a world where we take over the world.
■Company overview
[Image 13: https://prtimes.jp/i/120256/16/resize/d120256-16-58480062a7104d18ad17-12.png&s3=120256-16-7b3ac50323b26ab969e2c5b354d815ea-1265×230.png ]
Company name: Metaverse Creators Co., Ltd.
Head office location: 2nd floor, Kuwano Building, 6-23-4 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001
Representative Director: Kazuo Wakamiya
Business details: Production and management of Metaverse creators Planning, production, sales, distribution, and distribution of Metaverse content
Acquisition and management of copyright and other intellectual property rights Established: April 3, 2023
HP: https://metaverse-creators.tokyo/
■Contact information regarding this matter
Metaverse Creators Co., Ltd. Mail: info@metaverse-creators.tokyo