Genies has been investing closely for this second. The culture-focused avatar know-how firm is revealing its user-generated content material instruments that permit anybody create customized AI avatars.
Genies raised $150 million in 2022, and it has been busy ever since constructing out the tech stack for what it calls Events, or gaming platforms pushed by AI avatars, user-generated content material, and personalised gameplay.
In an unique interview, Genies CEO Akash Nigam gave GamesBeat a glance underneath the hood at Genies’ know-how that has been within the works for years with the hope of powering the subsequent technology of digital experiences. Whereas the tech is established, Nigam has by no means proven it off to a journalist earlier than.
“As you possibly can see, the standard of it is vitally excessive. So far as similar to the totally different sorts of enterprise mannequin that you would entertain right here, you possibly can foresee one thing like a fee payment or one thing like that for people who find themselves creating these items,” Nigam stated. “I can’t reveal the companions that now we have onboarded, however they’re tier one. They’re like the most important ones in leisure and gaming.”
Nigam stated the corporate was pushed by the mantra the place anybody ought to be capable of create something. Genies’ tech has a collection of UGC instruments that enable anybody to create any sort of AI avatar (together with trend, props, behaviors, and personalities) and AI avatar experiences.
Every little thing created must also work with the whole lot else, Nigam stated. The stack contains the Genies’ Avatar Framework which makes use of machine studying and laptop graphics to make sure interoperability and compatibility throughout all consumer generated AI Avatars and AI Avatar experiences with limitless creativity.
“We’ve guess the enterprise on these mantras,” Nigam stated. “The rationale why now we have executed it is because we consider we all know the place the way forward for the Web goes. We consider the way forward for the Web goes to be an intersection of three foremost tendencies: AI, XR and gaming.”
The mixture of those mantras not solely permits people to create limitless experiences, but additionally permits mental property house owners to foster social gaming ecosystems pushed by UGC and AI Avatars – these interoperable ecosystems are what Genies calls Events.
Nigam stated he thought again to a query that I requested him 2019. He recalled, “You requested, ‘Why do you wish to make a guess on avatars?’ And the most important purpose why we made a guess on avatars is as a result of we consider that it’s a prerequisite for the way forward for the Web. If you happen to think about AI XR and gaming all forming this new medium, an avatar is a prerequisite. You’re not going to speak to only a chat bot or chat 24/7 with an AI persona. You want some 3D asset of gaming, and avatars have been core to gaming ceaselessly. We knew that this was going to develop and ultimately change into your personal experiences.”
Early adopters of Genies’ first gen avatars embrace icons like Justin Bieber, Rihanna, J Balvin, Migos, and hundreds extra. With places of work in Los Angeles and San Francisco, Genies has raised $200 million thus far from notable traders together with Silver Lake, BOND, NEA, and Bob Iger.
The mission and the imaginative and prescient
Genies is devoted to powering the digital id layer for subsequent technology experiences. As AI, gaming, and XR converge to characterize the web’s future, Genies avatar know-how acts because the connective tissue at this intersection. Genies seeks to create a world the place digital id, UGC, and AI-driven avatars outline the subsequent technology of cell apps: personalised, adaptive, good, social gaming experiences.
This marks the fruits of over 5 years of technological developments, Nigam stated.
Genies first took off throughout the pandemic, when celebrities couldn’t meet their followers in individual. However these celebrities might create 3D avatars that they might use to make voice-based appearances at digital occasions the place they might entertain followers or in any other case meet with them in on-line settings.
Quickly, hundreds of celebrities caught on and created a brand new income stream that has continued even after the pandemic. It’s like how musicians discovered they might make some huge cash with music concert events within the wake of Spotify and Napster drying up file gross sales.
How far is that this going to go?
“More and more, you’re not going to indicate up as Dean Takahashi. You’re going to indicate up as a avatar of your self that represents your character as properly,” he stated. “In 2025, we’ve seen personalised LLMs and the necessity for these ‘AI companions’ dramatically improve. And so persons are beginning to transfer into the functions of AI and persons are beginning to even say statements like, you already know the common variety of AI mates that you should have within the subsequent 5 years goes to be larger than the variety of actual mates, proper?”
Whereas AI companions are fairly static now, Nigam believes that can change into way more energetic. It is possible for you to to talk with them, however they can even change into “sport prepared,” he stated.
“They are going to be an asset you possibly can play with,” he stated. “Consider Gen Alpha. Gen Alpha doesn’t synchronously hang around collectively on Instagram. They hang around collectively in locations like Roblox, like Fortnite, like these open world platforms. That is the way you converse their language, proper? You don’t construct a relationship with Gen Alpha except you allow them to work together with you and your UGC.”
If there’s an organization on the market that’s comparable, Nigam believes it’s Epic Video games, as Tim Sweeney has painted an image of the metaverse many instances and he too foresees the intersection of AI, XR and gaming.
“In addition they consider that everyone’s going to make use of UEFN to create these Fortnite worlds the place folks hang around,” Nigam stated.
Nigam stated Genies is concentrated on open supply, pushed by AI avatars, UGC instruments and interoperable frameworks.
“Once you break down what precisely we’ve created, it was actually underneath this premonition the place we really feel like everyone goes to be transferring into this new medium,” he stated.
And never each firm will get $1.5 billion handed to them, as Disney gave to Epic. However Genies is positioning itself to work with many doable companions.
Understanding the shift in digital interplay
As we speak’s social media panorama is an area the place folks primarily eat media relatively than actively participating in social interactions. Conventional platforms like Instagram have change into one-sided, with manufacturers and customers broadcasting content material right into a passive abyss.
Nevertheless, UGC-driven gaming platforms like Roblox and Fortnite have emerged as dynamic social areas the place customers can authentically categorical themselves, hang around, and join in real-time. These “two means dialogue” and UGC areas have change into extraordinarily fashionable with Gen Alpha and Gen Z, Nigam stated.
This generational shift underscores the rise of Events, Genies’ response to the demand for deeper, two-sided digital interactions. With UGC and interoperability on the core, Events allow manufacturers and audiences to co-create, work together, and interact in methods by no means seen earlier than.
Constructing a relationship between IP and the subsequent technology seems much like what Disney and Epic introduced in 2024, the place Disney will create social areas inside Fortnite worlds the place its characters can work together with followers in a gaming atmosphere.
Constructing a significant relationship with Gen Alpha requires a deep understanding of their digital habits, preferences, and social behaviors. In contrast to earlier generations, Gen Alpha is rising up in an period the place digital interactions and personalization form their experiences.
To attach with them successfully, it’s important to talk their language, utilizing the cultural references, tendencies, and digital dialects that resonate with them. Assembly them the place they naturally interact is simply as important—this implies immersing of their digital environments, similar to gaming platforms, social networks, and digital worlds.
What’s a Social gathering?
A Social gathering is a next-generation UGC gaming ecosystem that permits IP house owners to create absolutely customizable cell platforms powered by AI avatars, personalised gameplay, and user-generated content material. With a Social gathering, IP house owners and creators can remodel consumer engagement from passive consumption into lively co-creation—enabling IP house owners to construct distinctive and personalised relationships with their customers via AI, whereas empowering customers to play a task in creating the way forward for the model.
Nigam stated the corporate has a lot of large shoppers, however it may’t disclose any of its present IP companions but. So the Social gathering visuals on this story the written examples listed beneath spotlight a make-believe IP referred to as “Sweet Social gathering” with the intention to assist contextualize how this might work for any actual IP.
At its core, a Social gathering is constructed on three key pillars: good avatars, user-generated content material (UGC), and interoperability.
Sensible avatars: Sensible avatars are AI-powered digital characters with distinct personalities, behaviors, and aesthetics designed to drive significant engagement via clever interactions – serving as the guts of any Social gathering. Constructed on massive language fashions (LLMs) and behavioral AI, they’re way over chatbots—they’re clever, expressive, and adaptive sport prepared belongings that may interact in real-time conversations and take part in dynamic game-play with customers.
Sensible avatars aren’t simply visually customizable—they assume, study, categorical, and work together in a means that makes them actually alive in digital areas. The mind of every avatar permits for AI-driven gestures, real-time reactions, and voice using AI synthesis. Whereas in play, AI-driven physics allow seamless motion and interplay.
Instance use case for Events: For present IP, expertise IP, and even new IP, good avatars convey characters or personas to life, permitting them to work together, construct relationships, and dynamically play with customers all through Social gathering experiences. Think about a sweet retailer IP launches their very own Sweet Social gathering, they might remodel their Bubblegum Bunny mascot into personified AI good avatars that embodies its cute character, foolish expressions, and delicate gestures to dynamically chat and play video games with customers.
Builders can then leverage these IP-based good avatars to create and launch UGC video games with them in Sweet Social gathering. Along with IP-driven good avatars, each consumer additionally generates their very own distinctive good avatar, which turns into a hyper-customized AI companion that can be utilized as a game-ready asset for dynamic play inside Social gathering experiences, together with personalised conversations for recommendation, pleasant banter, insights, and extra.
Core tech that permits good avatars
Autogeneration and AIGC avatar creation: With Genies’ Avatar Autogeneration instrument, any consumer can routinely generate a stylized 3D avatar that resembles their likeness via uploaded photographs. This allows seamless avatar creation so customers can generate a extremely interesting, stylized avatar that appears similar to them that they’ll convey with them into Events, with no need any sort of technical experience.
By Genies’ AIGC creation instrument, customers may generate any bipedal avatar via textual content prompts, enabling them to create much more fantastical avatars that they’ll use in Events, similar to animals, creatures, or characters.
Avatar customization & compatibility: A strong customization system permits customers to change each side of their avatar, from facial construction to clothes layers, guaranteeing each avatar is exclusive and absolutely suitable with totally different visible kinds. As soon as an avatar has been generated, customers can proceed to customise particular particulars—together with the face, pores and skin coloration, physique form, coiffure, make-up, tattoos, garments, and equipment—to offer them extra management over the feel and appear of their avatar.
AI persona creation: As soon as the look of a Sensible Avatar has been created, they are often educated with AI to develop their very own distinctive personalities, which unlocks dynamic conversations and gameplay for customers all through Social gathering experiences.
Behavioral AI: Utilizing sentiment evaluation, Sensible Avatars can animate in actual time, reacting with synchronized gestures, expressions, and actions based mostly on gameplay or dialog. This offers them a extra personalised, life-like habits, enabling them to smile, giggle, frown, wave, and even facepalm in actual time based mostly on the context of their conversations and interactions.
UGC customized animation pipeline: Customers can seize real-world actions via face and physique monitoring to generate personalised animations for any avatar. Utilizing built-in smartphone sensors or importing movies from their digital camera roll, anybody can use Genies Digicam to convey avatars to life with expressive animations, emotes, and gestures to really customise their behaviors in Events.
AI good avatar demo
Consumer-generated content material (UGC): Communities can actively form their Social gathering expertise by creating video games, digital items, and avatar customizations, fostering deeper consumer participation. Events thrive on a steady inflow of user-generated video games, avatars, and digital items. Whereas IP house owners retain management over content material moderation, communities actively form the expertise, enhancing each engagement and loyalty. Genies’ UGC tech is pushed by their mission of enabling anybody to create something, empowering creators of any talent degree to create.
Instance use case for Events: IP House owners can present their customers with Genies’ UGC instruments to unlock an infinite provide of customized belongings and video games for his or her Social gathering, empowering followers and creators to make the most of their IP in distinctive methods and co-create with the model. Think about a creator producing their very own customized stylized Bubblegum Bunny purse and Cupcake gown that their avatar can put on or CandyRush wand their avatar can maintain. Think about a developer can create a Sugar Rush racing sport that includes Bubblegum Bunny’s Sensible Avatar, permitting followers to play collectively in Sweet Social gathering.
He stated that Events include good avatars, UGC video games, and UGC belongings.
“We wish to lower the barrier to entry. We’ve a developer package. We’ve our dev platform instruments for folks to make use of to create heightened experiences. We would like there to be a no code means, so {that a} 16 yr outdated fan of an IP can take our constructing blocks generate a extremely significant sport,” he stated. “If somebody desires to create one thing in an anime fashion, they’ll. If someone else desires to create one thing in a Pixar fashion, in a very totally different form and measurement, they’ll. These two want to have the ability to intersect with one another. And that’s all about UGC, all about interoperability. On the heart of all of it are good avatars.”
Core Tech That Permits UGC
UGC Property
AIGC Asset Pipeline: AI-generated content material (AIGC) instruments enable customers to create 3D belongings utilizing easy textual content or picture prompts. This minimizes technical obstacles, permitting customers to supply high-quality digital trend, props, equipment, and even avatars that they’ll use all through Social gathering experiences.
DIY Style Instruments: A complicated set of trend enhancing instruments allow customers to change and customise trend gadgets, altering textures, including gildings, and even layering a number of items for actually distinctive digital trend creations.
UGC Video games
Experiences SDK + No Code Growth Instruments: Equips builders and creators with the important instruments to create and launch Sensible Video games that assist UGC and interoperability. This allows real-time avatar interactions, seamless multiplayer gameplay, and protracted id throughout Social gathering experiences.
Genies Experiences SDK permits builders to publish video games instantly into any Social gathering app, making it a “tremendous app” (everybody’s personal Roblox). Genies no code improvement instruments will allow customers of all talent ranges to create and launch customized, personalised mini video games via a chat first expertise, leveraging Genies’ AIGC and Sensible Avatar applied sciences.
XR compatibility: Expands inventive potentialities by supporting immersive XR experiences on cell and wearable units.
Interoperability: To unlock the complete potential of a scalable, thriving UGC ecosystem, Genies’ frameworks are constructed for seamless compatibility and interoperability throughout all belongings and experiences. Interoperability ensures that any user-generated creation can work effortlessly with any avatar, expertise, or Social gathering, driving their mission of the whole lot works with the whole lot.
Genies’ Avatar Framework leverages machine studying and laptop graphics to offer limitless customization and compatibility of AI avatars, experiences, trend, props, and extra. Whether or not you’re a developer integrating avatars into your sport or a creator designing digital trend and props, Genies’ framework ensures that your creations seamlessly adapt and performance throughout totally different experiences, environments, aesthetics, and platforms.
Instance use case for Events: As soon as a consumer designs their customized Bubblegum Bunny purse, CandyRush wand, or Cupcake gown, these belongings are routinely ready by our system for use throughout totally different avatars, environments, and experiences. The Cupcake gown might initially be created for a human-like avatar, however then can routinely alter to suit a troll-shaped avatar, reshaping itself seamlessly.
A pair of cybernetic wings constructed for a robotic determine effortlessly adapts to work on a polar bear avatar. That’s interoperability in motion. A consumer may take that outfit or prop designed for his or her Sweet-style wanting sport and produce it into an anime-style wanting expertise the place every merchandise will routinely alter its look to match the brand new aesthetic. This offers your creations extra utility and worth since you should utilize them all through a wider vary of experiences and Events.
Core tech that permits interoperability
AutoRigging: After producing any 3D asset with Genies AIGC instruments or creating from scratch, customers can routinely convert their asset right into a fully-rigged, game-ready asset. Whether or not it’s a wearable, an avatar, or an interactive prop, the system adapts belongings to seamlessly combine throughout totally different Social gathering environments with out requiring guide rigging or changes.
Prop Retargeting: Genies prop retargeting know-how routinely adjusts all belongings, enabling them to be geared up by or interacted with all avatars and seamlessly carried throughout Social gathering experiences. A single merchandise, similar to a jetpack or a hat, could be dynamically resized, geared up, and performance in another way relying on the context of the expertise.
Wearable Refitting: Any UGC asset uploaded into the system, whether or not trend, coiffure, or accent, can routinely refit to be universally suitable throughout avatars of any measurement, form, or fashion. Whether or not a consumer desires their avatar to have a hulk-like determine or they wish to be as miniature as an elf, they’ll add a shirt that can configure seamlessly to both avatar throughout any Social gathering, giving them a full vary of potentialities when creating and styling their avatar.
Asset Stylizer: Customized shader instruments be sure that all UGC seamlessly blends right into a Social gathering’s aesthetic, whether or not it’s hyper-realistic, cartoon-like, or anime impressed. This allows IP companions and builders to have management over the feel and appear of UGC of their experiences.
Animation Retargeting: Genies animation retargeting and remapping know-how routinely makes all animations and emotes work seamlessly with all avatars, regardless of their measurement, form, or fashion.
Native Avatar Framework: Solves for true interoperability and efficiency throughout all gaming and rendering engines. Genies proprietary framework permits all avatar creations and experiences to work seamlessly throughout any sport, platform, gadget, and engine – guaranteeing creations keep high quality whereas enabling common compatibility.
Genies Login: A common entry level and id system permitting customers to effortlessly convey their avatar and stock of digital items throughout any Social gathering expertise.
Events redefine how customers interact with digital areas, providing a mix of social connection, creativity, and play that goes past conventional gaming or social media platforms. By Genies’ know-how stack, Events enable IP house owners to empower their audiences to change into co-creators, shaping the evolution of the platform collectively.
By leveraging Genies’ know-how stack, IP house owners and creators can construct social, interactive, and interoperable ecosystems powered by AI avatars and UGC.
Expertise community: Genies permits IP house owners to collaborate with high expertise throughout music, sports activities, and leisure to drive distribution and unite fan bases in revolutionary methods. IP house owners can pair up with expertise to convey each IP collectively for Social gathering experiences – whereas creators and builders can leverage each units of IP to create video games and belongings.
Style will play a giant position within the UGC kinds and characters. Corporations similar to Roblox, Epic Video games, Lego, Disney and extra are anticipated to dive into this house. And Genies desires to have the ability to get them off the bottom shortly with good avatars and Events. These sorts of corporations will be capable of launch instruments that their followers can use to create high quality avatars in a no-code atmosphere, he stated.
Nigam envisions one thing he calls the Mega stylizer that he believes will convey interoperability to the totally different worlds that will likely be out there. This sort of instrument is a part of your complete ecosystem that Genies is creating with Events.
“We consider that these Events are literally going to characterize a number of the future cell apps on this ecosystem — the longer term cell apps on this ecosystem will deal with the good avatars. So the good avatars are those which are in a position to act autonomously, but additionally affect gameplay as properly.”
A brand new period of IP improvement
Up till now we’ve talked about present IP and present TALENT that may convey their IP to life in new methods.
Present IP – Established IP house owners and types leveraging Genies’ tech stack to convey their IP to life via their very own Sensible Avatars and Social gathering.
Expertise IP – Influencers, creators, or celebrities growing their very own digital id via their very own Sensible Avatars for Social gathering experiences.
Nevertheless, as soon as all of those instruments are absolutely self-serve, it will usher in an period of making model new IP, enabling anybody to seamlessly create, deploy, and monetize IP all from their sofa.
New IP – Anybody can develop unique content material and characters leveraging Genies’ UGC tech to generate new, re-imagined, or fictional IP as Sensible Avatars for Social gathering experiences.
Key parts of IP improvement course of
Generate good avatar IP
Know-how: Sensible Avatar Autogeneration
Goal: Anybody can create clever, customizable avatar-based mental property (IP). AI-powered instruments help within the creation course of, making it simpler for anybody to develop distinctive AI Sensible Avatars.
Develop IP
Know-how: No Code Recreation Creation + Experiences SDK
Goal: This section includes refining and increasing the generated IP utilizing AI instruments and Genies’ Experiences SDK (Software program Growth Equipment) that permits customers to develop interactive and immersive experiences with good avatar IP.
Promote IP
Know-how: XR Digicam
Goal: Customers can showcase and market their IP utilizing Genies Digicam, a instrument designed to generate participating and customizable avatar content material with the intention to drive distribution.
Monetize IP
Know-how: AIGC Digital Items Market
Goal: The ultimate step permits customers to commercialize their IP inside Genies’ Asset Market, the place digital belongings could be offered, traded, or utilized in numerous experiences.
This technique empowers people and companies to construct, promote, and revenue from their distinctive digital IP, increasing the chances for UGC-driven gaming, digital avatars, and digital economies.
New IP improvement instance:
Step 1: Generate Sensible Avatar IP: Alex, a university scholar and aspiring digital artist develops their very own Sensible Avatar persona round a personality they name “Neon Nova”. Utilizing Genies’ Autogeneration and AIGC instruments, getting into prompts like “Cyberpunk rockstar with neon tattoos and futuristic streetwear” they can develop the feel and appear of Neon Nova, and leveraging Genies’ character and behavioral AI instruments, they remodel Neon Nova right into a charismatic however mysterious character, geared up with its personal distinct look, voice, backstory, and persona.
Step 2: Develop IP: With Neon Nova prepared, Alex makes use of Genies’ No-Code Recreation Creation instruments and Experiences SDK to construct an immersive “CyberCity Music Pageant” Social gathering App expertise. On this digital occasion, Neon Nova performs interactive concert events and engages in quests with customers. Customers assist form Neon Nova’s evolving story via their interactions.
Step 3: Promote IP: Alex leverages Genies’ Digicam to seize dynamic content material that includes Neon Nova performing songs and interacting with followers. Alex posts these shareable moments throughout social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and X (Twitter), successfully rising Neon Nova’s fanbase via its on-line character and driving consumer adoption for the Social gathering app expertise.
Step 4: Monetize IP: To monetize, Alex designs and sells unique digital merchandise and collectible equipment for Neon Nova utilizing Genies’ AIGC Digital Items Market. Followers buy Neon Nova-inspired digital trend, music packs, and distinctive collectibles to make use of inside Social gathering Apps or commerce amongst mates, producing a income stream for Alex and increasing Neon Nova’s IP.
A no-code world
In previous years, round 2021, it used to take about eight weeks to generate a game-ready 3D character, Nigam stated. “As a result of we’ve created our personal proprietary knowledge set over the previous 5 years, producing all of those Genies on this stylized motions, we are able to now auto generate them.”
Nigam confirmed me how he might create a fantastical character based mostly on a star.
“We used to make 20 avatars a yr,” he stated. “Now we are able to make 10,000 by Friday.”
In the mean time, Genies helps bipedal avatars.
“Our imaginative and prescient is that this yr we’re going to have the ability to settle for quadrupeds, so canines and cats and so forth. However for proper now, a consumer can go forward and generate a mannequin as a sport prepared asset of a bipedal turtle, Samurai, no matter you simply wish to do,” he stated. “And this may be one other character {that a} consumer or anybody might use. The secret is that the style that can also be created on this ecosystem.”
Genies does all of the work on auto-rigging and animating the characters.
“An enormous side of this class has been empowering builders to create compelling experiences that may be revealed inside this Tremendous App, and in addition enabling non-technical youngsters to have the ability to create actually enjoyable, personalised, lovely mini video games as properly,” Nigam stated. “It may be executed in a no-code means, and the one purpose that is doable as a result of we took so lengthy to do all of this work.”
Recap
This primary have a look at Genies’ AI avatars, sport instruments, and UGC platform they’ve spent years constructing makes one factor clear: they’re not simply constructing avatars—they’re constructing the inspiration for the subsequent period of digital experiences.
Rooted in Genies two core mantras—“Anybody can create something” and “Every little thing works with the whole lot”—the Genies tech stack fuses AI, gaming, and interoperability to unlock limitless creativity and connection. By combining AI-powered creation instruments, interoperability frameworks, and absolutely interactive, interoperable AI avatars, Genies is redefining how on-line identities, social video games, and digital creation could be dropped at life.
“We’ve already began to signal huge companions, which is tremendous rewarding. Clearly, it’s been a very long time, however we’ve already began to signal them on. We’re going to be making some bulletins about them over the subsequent few months,” Nigam stated. “There’s a complete technique that’s going to be put into place, relying on the companion. They’ll roll it out at totally different instances. We received’t reveal that but, but it surely’s not far off.”
