One of the biggest barriers for consumers to get into VR and the so-called metaverse is the hardware required. Headsets are both clunky and expensive.
But a startup based in Israel and the Bay Area is developing tools to make one aspect of the space more accessible — avatar creation — and has raised nearly $45 million to make it happen.
CommonGround lets users scan their faces with a smartphone to create what the company calls a "TrueSelf" avatar — a 3D animated figure — that will eventually be usable for virtual meetings. The software is only available for beta testing on iPhones, but the website says an Android version is being planned, as well.
On Wednesday, the company announced that it had raised $25 million in new funding, bringing its total funding to just under $45 million. Its investors include Marius Nacht, Matrix Partners, Grove Ventures and StageOne Ventures. The round actually closed a year ago, according to TechCrunch, which first reported the news, but CommonGround held off on announcing it until it was ready to launch out of stealth.
It was founded in 2019 by CEO Amir Bassan-Eskenazi and CTO Ran Oz.
The company is also reportedly planning on launching virtual meeting software early next year where people will be able to use their personalized avatars.
"We believe, using hyper-realistic avatars as part of an immersive experience, we can make online interactions even better than face-to-face meetings,” Bassan-Eskenazi said in a statement.
The use of video conferencing tools exploded globally in 2020 in response to the sudden implementation of Covid-19 lockdowns. However, many people also eventually experienced so-called Zoom fatigue.
Despite that, or perhaps because of it, companies are still building products for virtual experiences.
Facebook parent Meta has gone all-in on the metaverse, burning through cash in its pursuit of virtual experiences. It reportedly had more than 15,000 people working on the metaverse, according to The Information, before the company announced widespread layoffs earlier this month.
An early version of Meta's own personalized avatars was widely panned when CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted a rudimentary rendering of himself in August. Soon after, he promised "major updates" would come soon.
