Building on early successes, the augmented reality protocol opens the door for creators of all sizes to make dynamic, ownable AR

More than any technology before it, augmented reality bridges the gap between the real and digital worlds, acting as a tangible medium for abstract concepts like the metaverse. Anima, the protocol for dynamic and ownable augmented reality, today announced an additional $3 million in capital from new investors including HashKey, Not Boring Capital, Polygon Studios, and NGC Ventures, joining the company’s previous investors Coinbase Ventures, Flamingo, and Divergence Ventures.

“Web3 has brought digital assets under our control, but they still fail to connect back to our lives in meaningful and non-speculative ways. Augmented reality brings that relevance and connection,” said Alex Herrity, cofounder of Anima. “We believe creative minds should be shaping this new medium. Anima’s protocol and toolset makes reality a canvas for creators, linking the context of the physical world with real digital ownership.”

Partnering with notable artists like Michael Kagan and Lyle Owerko, Anima’s early projects demonstrated the potential for augmented reality as an outlet for creators to explore new avenues, setting records for AR auctions and driving over a million dollars in art sales.

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Last week, Anima introduced Onlybots, a collection of augmented reality creatures that showcase an ambitious collectible brand built for AR. The project’s debut was met with intense demand, selling out and rocketing to the top trending projects on trading marketplaces within an hour of launch. Earlier this year, the Mirror project with famed street artist Demsky was built with Anima’s location-based AR functionality to trigger persistent evolutions of 3D digital sculptures, prompting collectors to travel hundreds of miles across countries on their real-world quest to reach virtual landmarks.

“Anima lets creators expand their toolkits and carry their creativity from the screen to the physical world. They’re building towards a future in which the whole world becomes a canvas,” said writer and investor Packy McCormick of Not Boring.

The Anima protocol and toolset are in a private beta with a public launch in early 2023, providing a path for creators to release and tokenize dynamic creations that interact with the real world. Unlike augmented reality created in closed social networks, Anima empowers creators to set the terms of their sales and enables collectors to obtain true ownership. Projects being built on the Anima protocol range from on-chain virtual pets to video games to immersive fine art sculptures.

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