GathR Virtual Studios believes it has a solution for remote workers suffering from Zoom fatigue.
On Wednesday, the Miami-based startup announced it raised $2.7 million in a pre-seed round to hire an executive team and develop what it calls an immersive hybrid work platform for businesses and events. The platform builds interactive 3D spaces where users can sign on to participate in meetings and live events via an online avatar.
Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Jaime Lopez said GathR was developed as an alternative to the "endless" video meetings experienced by remote workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Staring at flat faces on screens and evaluating people's choices of home decoration were just not what modern business was supposed to be," he said.
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Founded in 2020, GathR creates virtual ecosystems that can be used for interactive meetings, networking events, virtual trade shows and job interviews, all powered by the 3D creation platform Epic Games Unreal Engine. Users can log in using the browser of their desktop computer to navigate those spaces with an avatar that uses hologram technology to display the users' face. A mobile version of the GathR platform is currently under development.
The $2.7 million pre-seed round was led by billionaire investment banker Ken Moelis; former Seacor Holdings Executive Chairman and CEO Charles Fabrikant; Ely Capital CEO Hope S. Taitz; and Alberto Peisach, CEO of Aventura-based packaging company Grupo Phoenix. Once its executive team is in place, GathR expects to raise another seed round to expand its library of on-demand spaces and assets.
In a statement, Fabrikant said the GathR platform could improve productivity and cut costs for businesses that typically rely on in-person events for networking.
"I was impressed by the early iteration of the GathR platform and its potential to facilitate many different functions retaining the intimacy of in-person experiences," he said.
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