Alexa Fund, the venture capital arm of Amazon, has dished out $20 million in the latest round of funding to support Web3-centric studio Superplastic. The investment brings the company’s total funding to $58 million, with the likes of Galaxy Digital, Google Ventures, Sony Japan, Craft Ventures, Animoca Brands, and many others involved in the latest round.
Superplastic is a 3D character studio that specializes in creating vinyl toys. It has also heavily invested in Web3, having launched NFT collections on Ethereum and partnered with top brands like Gucci and Fortnite by Epic Games.
Following the investment, Superplastic has promised to prioritize Amazon Studios with any television series or film pitches that feature its characters. Currently, there is already one show in production featuring two of Superplastic’s virtual characters. It’s dubbed “The Janky & Guggimon Show.” The masterpiece features a cat and a fanged rabbit that are in hot pursuit of fame and riches by any means.
Today, we announce a collaboration with Amazon that spans investment and a first-look deal with Amazon Studios. The Alexa Fund leads our $20 million Series A-4 investment round & THE @JANKY & @GUGGIMON SHOW has been put into development at Amazon Studios. https://t.co/xV7NN3TcZB pic.twitter.com/iCJxKlFFpX
— SUPERPLASTIC (@SUPERPLASTIC) February 15, 2023
The team behind the show describes the two characters as “lazy and spectacularly incompetent best friends,” with Janky being a “loveable idiot who spends his spare time scamming celebrities,” while Guggimon is a “fashion icon and master manipulator who is too narcissistic to care.”
Amazon’s Investment In Superplastic Is Part Of Its Plan To Expand Its Reach With New Technologies
Superplastic’s virtual celebrities are quite popular, boasting millions of followers on social media. Its one aspect that proved quite appealing to Amazon’s head honchos as they contemplated the deal. Paul Bernard, director of the Alexa Fund, acknowledges this fact. In a statement, he says the fact that Superplastic’s characters “meet their customers where they are,” either on social media or in video games like Fortnite, is a big part of why they are so appealing.
He continues, “We see them as a new class of IP that will become increasingly relevant to younger generations.”
Amazon’s investment in Superplastic also appears to be part of its intention to expand its reach when it comes to future technologies.
According to Bernard, “This includes technologies such as synthetics, virtualization, generative AI, Web3, and more.” Thus, the company “wants to place strategic bets on these areas alongside our continued investment in startups furthering voice use cases, as it’s a part of our company’s core values to look towards the future at long-term investments that will position us well, even if it takes some time for these technologies to fully come to fruition in our day-to-day lives.”
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Basil is an avid fan of blockchain technology and all its innovations, and he is passionate about sharing this narrative with his audience. He has spent over five years in the crypto space, specializing in research and creating Web3 content for various media outlets around the globe.
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