The rise of influencer culture has allowed regular people to attract hyperspecific audiences, which they can leverage to market both themselves and brands. However, influencer or not, all humans have their limitations – they can only be in one place at one time, and they can’t spend 24 hours a day making content.
That’s not the case for so-called “metahumans,” and the lines are blurring. In the US, a metahuman influencer named Miquela Sousa has 2.7 million Instagram followers and countless brand deals.
In Indonesia, startups like Genexyz are hoping to follow suit by offering an alternative to real-life influencers. The company, which aggregates intellectual properties (IPs), operates similarly to a talent agency, but its digital personalities can be anywhere and do anything all at once.
In other words, they can reliably create as much content as needed.
Brands have taken notice: Since its founding last year by Belinda Luis and Christian Melvin, the firm has collaborated with Tokopedia, Ismaya Group, Nivea, Pepsodent, and Tiket.com. Investors are showing interest too, as shown by the recent US$1 million seed funding.
Funding details
- Funding amount: US$1,000,000
- Lead investors: East Ventures
- Other investors: Emtek Group, MDI Ventures, Trinity Optima Production, Massive Music, Future Creative Network
- Stage: Seed
- Source
So, who are Genexyz’s virtual influencers?
One is singer Lavcaca, who has amassed over 14,500 followers on Instagram. She recently collaborated with food chain Eatlah on an exclusive menu item.
Another is Zivi, whom the firm brought live to a keynote last year at creative industry conference IdeaFest to co-host a talk with Genexyz co-founder Luis.
With the seed funding, the startup looks to expand its business reach to other Southeast Asian countries, develop more interactive tech, as well as scale in both B2C and B2B segments.
