Virtual Star of Porsche Ads Gets Real Venture Backing

Aww Inc., a Japanese startup whose virtual influencers have graced advertising campaigns for the likes of Porsche and IKEA has raised $1 million in a seed round from Coral Capital.

The Tokyo-based company is building out a stable of digitally-generated celebrities and social media stars, with its Imma character commanding an audience of more than 250,000 on Facebook Inc.’s Instagram. Imma, created in 2018, is a computer-generated face composited onto a photo of a real human model. Aww’s other virtual models include plusticboy and Ria.

Aww’s virtual influencers, from left: Imma, plusticboy and Ria.

Source: Aww Inc.

Virtual influencers came to prominence in the U.S. last year when ...