The Venture Codex

Participated · Equity · Jan 2022

AmazeVR builds immersive VR concerts and a music-focused metaverse service distributed across major VR app stores and next‑generation headsets. The company produces commercial VR concerts (including a U.S. tour with Megan Thee Stallion) and is expanding partnerships with artists, labels, agencies and publishers. AmazeVR has a joint venture with SM Entertainment to launch Studio A in South Korea and plans to produce concerts with K‑pop artists. The startup intends to hire AI, Unreal Engine and VFX engineers to advance its technology and broaden content. It reported about 75% attendance on its Enter Thee Hottieverse tour (roughly 4.3x typical theater occupancy) with $20–$25 ticket prices. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in Seoul and a team of 62. Its recent financing activity has brought total funding to approximately $47.8 million. AmazeVR builds VR concert experiences and content-generation tools that let users attend immersive concerts as avatars and interact with other fans. The company has developed proprietary 9K cameras and software that automate complex Unreal Engine–based VFX and can run more than 100 headsets simultaneously. AmazeVR is rolling out its first commercial VR concert with Megan Thee Stallion in select AMC Theatres and has secured a second A-list artist while finalizing a third. The startup plans to scale content creation and release new VR concerts weekly by 2024 to both in-theater and at-home audiences. Leadership says the company pivoted fully into VR concerts in late 2019 and has grown its team from 12 employees at the start of 2021 to 41 across Hollywood and Seoul. AmazeVR intends to use the new capital to hire additional headcount as it pursues broader adoption of VR and metaverse experiences. AmazeVR is a virtual concert platform that creates high-quality VR music content and enables artists to connect with fans through immersive technologies. It offers an end-to-end solution—from ultra-high-resolution custom cameras to cloud-based creation tools and social interaction features that let users experience concerts as avatars. Founded in 2015 and based in Los Angeles, CA, the company produced a debut immersive concert with Roc Nation duo Ceraadi and has several other concerts in the works. AmazeVR raised $9.5M in a funding round led by Murex Partners. The round included participation from We Ventures, Bass Investment, Dunamu & Partners and existing investors Mirae Asset Venture Investment, Mirae Asset Capital, Partners Investment and Timewise Investment. The company intends to use the funds to expand operations and broaden its business reach. AmazeVR produces and distributes immersive virtual-reality entertainment content and is moving into location-based experiences. The company has opened an 11,000-square-foot entertainment hub at Incheon International Airport that mixes meditation and relaxation VR videos, a performance stage for immersive musical performances, and an indoor playground. AmazeVR has partnerships with immersive studios Atlas V and Felix & Paul Studios and says it aims to broaden distribution offline to accelerate consumer VR adoption. The company launched last May with backing from Korean hardware manufacturer LG and leverages entertainment industry connections to develop unique VR experiences. Financially, AmazeVR recently secured an additional $2.5 million commitment, bringing its total funding to around $9 million. AmazeVR operates a cloud-based VR content and production platform that stitches 360-degree video, provides editing and production tools for creators, and builds its own cameras for capture. The company sells VR content via a subscription priced at $7 per month (three-month bundles $18, six-month bundles $24) and has more than 1,000 subscribers. AmazeVR already offers about 20 interactive VR experiences and shares revenue from subscriptions and individual downloads with video creators. The company is partnering with LG U+ to host content and use AmazeVR’s proprietary tools to produce and roll out up to 1,500 new VR experiences on LG’s service. Founding executives are former Kakao leaders (JB Lee, Steve Lee, Jeremy Nam, and Steve Koo) and the team is active in Los Angeles to connect with talent for additional productions. Strategic backing from LG Technology Ventures and others underpins the company’s push to scale its content library and consumer adoption.