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XFormer Snapchat Employees Move to Genies Engineering Team
Samson Amore
Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.
Virtual avatar company Genies wants to be the go-to option for online personas and it's targeting the wealth of talent and seasoned executives from the area's biggest tech firm, Snap Inc., to help make that goal a reality.
Genies' latest hire from the Venice-based social camera company is George "YJ" Tu, a former senior engineer who worked on its Snapchat app and Spectacles camera glasses. Prior to working at Snap, Tu worked for three and a half years as a senior engineer at Facebook and specialized in developing the company's mobile infrastructure.
Tu joins Genies as its director of engineering. Genies CEO and founder Akash Nigam told dot.LA Tu's main mandate is hiring engineers to continue developing its avatar creation platform and digital marketplace, where users can buy and sell digital collectibles and wearable items for their virtual selves.
Tu is the first engineering executive the company's hired since its launch in 2017, but it plans to devote a big chunk of its recent $65 million Series B raise to attracting new talent.
"I think we've landed quite a few Snap employees for a few reasons," Nigam said. "Genies and Snap are probably the two biggest social companies on the Westside in LA, so I think that's an attraction for people that are already local."
The company already has some big celebrity names using its tech to make and share avatars -- including Justin Bieber, Rihanna and hip-hop tycoons Migos -- and the next step is to bring in more users.
George "YJ" Tu is Genies' new director of engineering.
Nigam said the company's hired close to 30 new employees in the last three months, with about 80% of those hires being engineers. He added that roughly 90 people work at Genies, and estimated that 10% of them are ex-Snap employees.
"I think from a product perspective, we share a lot of philosophies and we're very similar in the way that we scheme and we game plan. Snap always is kind of shooting a few years in advance specifically within the social category."
Matt Sibka, Genies' vice president of recruiting, spent three and a half years at Snap creating a team for its CEO Evan Spiegel and was hired to do the same at Genies earlier this year. Genies competes with Snap's Bitmoji avatars, which got a 3D upgrade this July.
"Eighty percent of new spend after our fundraise, and anything moving forward for the next two years, is all going to be on engineering to become an engineering powerhouse," Nigam said. Genies has raised $110 million to date and Nigam previously told dot.LA the company wants to make "Ninety nine point nine percent of its revenue from selling digital goods.
Nigam said that the synergy between Genies and Snap wasn't a conscious choice, but noted that both companies have a similar vision – to advance augmented reality and encourage people to adopt virtual avatars that they can increasingly use as an extension of how they express themselves online.
Nigam's plan is to integrate Genies avatars into as many applications as possible. Currently the company has a deal with Facebook's Giphy that will let users bring their avatar with them to platforms where Giphy is integrated, like Facebook, TikTok or Snapchat – but Nigam said it wants to bring its avatars to popular games like "Roblox" too.
"That's the first API partnership, but we want to have hundreds of those," Nigam said. "So all of a sudden if you get ported into 'Roblox,' you can get any avatar."
Genies' next big goal is getting Generation Z to buy into the NFT hype by creating unique items for their avatars and then trading them. Genies is working with Dapper Labs, which operates NBA Top Shot and CryptoKitties, two of the most popular NFT exchanges, to create its own blockchain-based system for creating, verifying and selling digital goods.
Genies plans to make the marketplace available by the end of this year. Right now it's only accessible to celebrities, but Nigam said it'll open a beta version to customers by year's end.
"It almost becomes like a login authentication button, where you can port your Genie and your digital goods associated with it from one environment to the next, and in that case, we're kind of creating a new digital identity layer," Nigam said.
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Samson Amore
Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.
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samsonamore@dot.la
🔦 Spotlight
Happy Friday Los Angeles,
As many of you know, LA Tech Week is right around the corner, kicking off next Monday October 14th bringing together founders, creatives, investors, and engineers for a week of immersive events, panels, and socials across the city. From blockchain and AI to biotech and design, LA Tech Week is a chance to dive into the ideas shaping today’s technology landscape.
What to Look Forward To
Insights from Visionary Leaders: Hear firsthand from industry trailblazers as they share stories, challenges, and key lessons from their experiences. Expect fresh perspectives on AI, venture capital, biotech, and the ethical questions around emerging technologies.
Interactive Panels: This week isn’t about watching from the sidelines; it’s about engaging directly with the tech community. Participate in hands-on panels discussing everything from startup scaling to ethical AI, with honest insights from those actively shaping these fields.
Networking Mixers & Social Events: Meet and connect with founders, VCs, developers, designers, and fellow techies across LA. Rooftop mixers, lunch meetups, and creative gatherings offer the perfect chance to spark ideas and collaborate.
Plan your week with the daily lineup, organized by location for easy navigation:
For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.
Enjoy LA Tech Week 2024!!
🤝 Venture Deals
LA Companies
- Clout Kitchen, a Los Angeles and Manila based startup, has raised $4.45M in seed funding, co-led by a16z SPEEDRUN and Peak XV’s Surge, to develop AI-powered digital twins, which enables gaming creators to produce realistic virtual avatars for content and fan engagement. - learn more
- MeWe, a privacy-focused social media platform, has raised an initial $6M in Series B funding led by McCourt Global to support Web3 integration and expand its decentralized network for 20 millions users. - learn more
- Suma Wealth, a financial platform aimed at empowering Latino entrepreneurs, raised a $7M seed round, with participation from ResilienceVC, Acumen, Commerce Ventures, Ascendo Venture Capital, and Cooley, to enhance its AI-driven financial tools, including the recent acquisition of Mooch, an AI-powered personal finance app that expands its personalized financial management solutions. - learn more
LA Venture Funds
- EGB Capital participated in a $10M Series A funding round for MiLaboratories, which develops software that enables biologists to independently analyze complex genomic data, accelerating research and discovery in fields like drug development. - learn more
- Crosscut Ventures participated in the $13.75M seed round for Airloom Energy, a company focused on developing airborne wind energy technology to harness high-altitude winds, with plans to accelerate a pilot project in Wyoming. - learn more
- Alpha Edison and ICM Partners participated in a $59M Series B round for Q-Ctrl, an Australian quantum infrastructure software provider, bringing its total funding to $113M. - learn more
- Alexandria Venture Investments participated, and TCG co-led, a $100M Series A round for Judo Bio, a biotechnology company pioneering oligonucleotide therapies targeted at kidney delivery. - learn more
- TIME BioVentures participated in a $30M Series C round for Rivermark Medical, a leading provider of minimally invasive solutions for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. - learn more
- Vamos Ventures participated in a $405M Series F round for Form Energy, Inc., a U.S.-based tech company pioneering a cost-effective, multi-day energy storage solution for commercial use. - learn more
- Navitas Capital and Fifth Wall participated in a $21.5M Series B round for Document Crunch, a construction document compliance platform based in Atlanta, GA. - learn more
- Overture VC participated in a $5.5M Seed funding round for Molg Inc., a company developing robotics and software for circular manufacturing, designed to disassemble electronics efficiently and recover valuable materials to reduce e-waste and support sustainable production. - learn more
- Fifth Wall led a $15M funding round for Purpose Green, a Berlin-based climate tech company, bringing its total funding to $18.4M. - learn more
LA Exits
- The Parking Spot, a leading near-airport parking provider, has been acquired by KKR from an affiliate of Green Courte Partners, LLC, enhancing its portfolio in travel-related infrastructure. - learn more
- Options MD, a Los Angeles based telemedicine platform that provides care for people suffering from severe and treatment-resistant mental illness, is set to be acquired by Resilience Lab, an AI-driven provider focused on enhancing mental health care access. - learn more
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Billion-Dollar Milestones and Snapchat’s New Features
11:30 AM | October 25, 2024
🔦 Spotlight
Happy Friday Los Angeles!
This week’s spotlight showcases LA’s thriving tech scene, featuring Snapchat’s latest feature updates and two local startups Liquid Death and Altruist, making TechCrunch’s Unicorn List for 2024.
Image Source: Snap
Snapchat’s recent fall updates bring fresh features, including a new iPhone camera shortcut for instant snaps, Halloween-inspired AI-powered Lenses, and Bitmoji costumes inspired by Mean Girls and Yellowstone. Bitmoji stickers now reflect trending Gen-Z expressions like “slay” and heart symbols for added flair in chats. Plus, the “Footsteps” feature on Snap Map allows users to track their past adventures privately, adding a nostalgic touch.
Image Source: Liquid Death
ICYMI, two LA startups joined the Unicorn Club—achieving valuations over $1 billion. Liquid Death, based in Santa Monica, is a canned water company with edgy branding and a humorous sustainability focus. Known for viral marketing and brand partnerships, it redefines bottled water as a lifestyle brand and environmental statement. In March, Liquid Death closed $67 million in strategic financing, raising its total funding to over $267 million and valuing it at $1.4 billion.
Image Source: Altruist
Altruist, a Culver City-based fintech platform, offers financial advisors streamlined tools to better serve their clients. With a user-friendly investment and account management platform, Altruist has gained strong traction in the finance world. In May, it announced a $169 million Series E funding round, bringing its total funding to over $449 million and earning a valuation of $1.5 billion.
Together, Liquid Death and Altruist exemplify LA’s capacity for innovation across diverse sectors, from lifestyle branding to fintech. Whether reshaping financial tools or redefining sustainable branding, these companies showcase LA’s unique entrepreneurial spirit. Go LA!
Check out TechCrunch’s 2024 Unicorn List here. And don’t miss Snapchat’s latest features—perfect for adding some fun, connection and maybe a few selfies this weekend!
🤝 Venture Deals
LA Companies
- Carbon Ridge, a developer of carbon capture technology for the maritime industry to reduce ship emissions, has raised $9.5M in a funding round led by Crosscut Ventures and Western Technology Investment (WTI). This investment will help accelerate the decarbonization of maritime shipping. - learn more
- Freeform, a company bringing AI to metal 3D printing, raised $14M in funding from NVIDIA’s NVentures and AE Ventures to further develop its AI-powered 3D printing technology for industrial-scale production. - learn more
LA Venture Funds
- Anthos Capital participated in a $70M Series D round for Carbon Robotics, which develops AI-powered robotics for precision agriculture, and the funding will be used to accelerate the growth of its autonomous weeding technology. - learn more
- Anthos Capital participated in a $3.5M seed round for Plasma Network, aimed at expanding access to USDT stablecoins on the Bitcoin network, with the investment supporting the network’s growth and efforts to enhance stablecoin accessibility through the Lightning Network. - learn more
LA Exits
- Grandview, a literary management company representing top talent across various entertainment sectors, has been acquired by TPG’s newly formed entertainment venture, Initial Group, in partnership with Untitled Entertainment. - learn more
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