ObEN, Inc. (ObEN), an artificial intelligence (AI) company that is building the world’s first celebrity AI platform, today announced that it raised $5 million in strategic funding led by Tencent Holdings Limited (Tencent), with the participation of Li Ruigang, Chairman of CMC and Fengshion Capital.
The new funding will accelerate product development and grow ObEN’s AI platform for future use in a wide range of digital platforms. The first Personal AI product of this company is expected to launch later this year.
The $5 million raised today brings ObEN’s total funding to date to more than $13.7 million.
Last month, ObEN announced the formation of AI Stars, a joint venture with S.M. Entertainment, one of Asia’s largest entertainment companies with an extensive portfolio of global celebrities including Kpop phenomenons EXO, Super Junior, Girls’ Generation, NCT 127, and TVXQ! among others. AI Stars merges ObEN’s Personal AI technology with S.M. Entertainment’s global artists and premium content to deliver products and services that combine celebrity IP with AI technology.
“As technology rapidly evolves and moves towards applications using AI, we are excited by ObEN and their AI solution which is poised to enrich user experiences across different online platforms,” said Levin Yao, Executive Director of Tencent Investment. “ObEN’s vision of creating a new form of entertainment and content driven by celebrity AI is inspiring.”
ObEN is an artificial intelligence (AI) company that creates complete virtual identities for consumers and celebrities, enabling never before possible social and virtual interactions. ObEN builds a person’s virtual voice, image and personality to create their Personal AI and then stores, manages, and helps monetize these assets in the digital world. Established in 2014, ObEN is a Softbank Ventures Korea and HTC Vive X portfolio company and is located at Idealab in Pasadena, California.
“We are thrilled with Tencent’s strategic investment which serves as validation from one of the world’s premier social and gaming platforms,” said Nikhil Jain, cofounder and CEO of ObEN, Inc. “Fans may never have a personal experience with their favorite celebrity, but ObEN’s Personal AI for celebrities aims to change that. Imagine being able to perform a virtual duet with your favorite artist, have your beloved movie star become the face and voice of your virtual assistant, or engage in a deep conversation with your most admired influencer. The possibilities are infinite.”
ObEN empowers celebrities to seamlessly control and deploy their Personal AI to create scalable but personalized experiences with their audiences, grow their fan bases and enter new markets, all while saving valuable time. ObEN is creating a future marketplace where celebrities and their fans can interact directly through their Personal AI, across a range of products and services in mobile, augmented reality, virtual reality and IoT. As said above, ObEN’s Personal AI product is expected to launch later this year.
Image over the headline.- © ObEN
Related Eastwind Marketing links:
Interview with Olivier Robert Murphy Universal Music (video)
Related Eastwind Marketing links (Spanish edition):
Entrevista.- EL DJ Carlos Jean desvela sus nuevos proyectos (video)
