Silver Lake Leads $150M Funding Round in Web3 Avatar Company

Genies, founded in 2017, is a platform for users to create and sell online characters, digital experiences and other goods

article-image

Example of a Genies avatar | Source: Genies

share

key takeaways

  • Genies is now valued at $1 billion after its Series C
  • Gen Z is going to lead the charge on metaverse and Web3 adoption, Genies’ CEO said

Web3 avatar technology company Genies has announced a $150 million Series C fundraise led by technology investment firm Silver Lake, bringing Genies’ valuation to $1 billion.

Other contributors to the round include investment firms BOND, NEA and Tamarack Global. 

“We believe avatar ecosystems are going to shape Web3 the same way that mobile apps defined Web2,” Akash Nigam, CEO of Genies, said in a statement. “With every advancement of the internet, an expansive new region of entrepreneurial skill sets is born.

Genies, founded in 2017, is a platform for users to create and sell online characters, digital experiences and other goods. Creators have full ownership and commercialization rights of their Genie avatar creations to be used for personal use or monetization.

Avatar builders from Generation Z are going to be the leaders of innovation in Web3, Nigam said, and Genies will help bring their vision to life.

Genies recently entered a partnership with Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group to become both companies’ “official avatar and digital goods NFT provider,” Genies said.

“Genies has established its leadership in Web3 with remarkable speed and focus, fueled by a long term vision and clarity of purpose that we have been watching closely and greatly admire,” Egon Durban, Co-CEO of Silver Lake, said in a statement. “We’re excited to partner with and support Akash, his co-founder Evan, and the entire Genies team as they make it possible for people to build the avatar ecosystems that we believe will drive the next evolution of human expression, communication and creativity.”

The news comes as interest in the metaverse and Web3 applications continues to grow. 

The developer of one of the world’s most popular games, Fortnite, announced a $2 billion raise on Monday from investors including Sony Group Corporation and KIRKBI, the family-owned investment company behind The LEGO Group.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates.png

Research

Pipe Network is a decentralized content delivery network (dCDN) that replaces the sparse, capital intensive data center footprint of traditional CDNs with a permissionless mesh of independent node operators. By orchestrating under-utilized resources that already exist at the edge, rather than purchasing or leasing thousands of servers, Pipe slashes capital intensity while letting supply expand autonomously in the places where bandwidth is scarcest and most expensive.

article-image

Fiscal dominance isn’t about interest rates and it isn’t about Trump, either

article-image

Firestarter Storage brings decentralized storage and delivery to Solana

article-image

After lengthy closing arguments on Wednesday, the case is now in the hands of 12 jurors

article-image

Analysts cite weak trading volume and regulatory progress as factors

article-image

Builders weigh in on Ethereum’s first decade and the decisions that will define its next one

article-image

Closing arguments set to kick off Wednesday after Tuesday’s testimony from two expert witnesses and an a16z partner