Los Angeles-based YOOM, described as a volumetric capture and immersive content company, has raised $15 million in a new funding round.
According to a press statement issued on Tuesday (October 25), the round was joined by Jimmy Iovine, Finneas O’Connell, as well as other “influential executives”.
The company has now raised $50 million in total.
Formerly known as Tetavi, YOOM has also named Maverick Carter [CEO of The SpringHill Company]; Justin Lubliner, [CEO of the Darkroom]; and Paul Wachter [Founder, Chairman and CEO of Main Street Advisors] as investors.
The company says that “all of these artists and executives have signed agreements to help YOOM conceive, develop, and create the future of immersive and interactive content with a focus on music, entertainment, gaming, sports and popular culture”.
YOOM says its new funding will enable it to expand its roster of talent and brand partnerships as well as invest more into its production, R&D capabilities and mobile app development.
The company’s existing investors and shareholders include Insight Partners, Marc Rowan and Aaron Stone.
In addition, Aaron Stone, former senior partner and Head of Media, Entertainment and Communications, and current advisor to Apollo Global Management, has been named as YOOM’s first non-founder Chairman.
Stone was a seed investor in the company and has partnered with YOOM’s founders and senior executives to help develop the organization’s strategy and structure.
Earlier this year, YOOM partnered with the Los Angeles Kings to become the first NHL team to enter the Metaverse. In the near-term, YOOM says it will introduce its first major projects in areas such as music, gaming, TV and location-based entertainment.
“YOOM CEO Gilad Talmon said: “We are honored to receive the endorsement and investments in time, effort, and capital from these titans in the music and entertainment industries, who are among the leading global trend setters in culture broadly.”
Gilad Talmon, YOOM
YOOM CEO Gilad Talmon said: “We are honored to receive the endorsement and investments in time, effort, and capital from these titans in the music and entertainment industries, who are among the leading global trend setters in culture broadly.
“We are grateful that they share our vision of a more immersive and connected future where people can engage both with each other as well as their favorite personalities in a more intimate and meaningful way.”
Added Talmon: “Our new name, YOOM, reflects the universal and meaningful experiences that our technology enables. It is the combination of ‘You and Me’, as we want to create a deeper connection between content creators and their audiences.
“It is also the sound of the second syllable of the word ‘volume’ since our technology allows you to create a digital version of yourself in 3D and with volume. Our new logo, a butterfly with symmetrical faces that appear as mirror images of each other, aims to convey creativity, freedom, duality and metamorphosis, symbolizing the passage from the real world to the digital world. The name YOOM represents who we are both as people and as a company: Dynamic, Bold, Expressive and Playful.”
“I am particularly excited that YOOM will provide the ability to create extraordinary content and experiences previously unavailable to anyone, to virtually everyone.”
Aaron Stone
Aaron Stone said: “We are at the inception of a period in which new AI-based technologies will revolutionize the way we create and experience content, and interact socially.
“YOOM will partner with artists to create content that can engender enhanced feelings of presence, enabling new and different ways for people to emotionally engage and form communities.
“I am particularly excited that YOOM will provide the ability to create extraordinary content and experiences previously unavailable to anyone, to virtually everyone. I am thrilled to be a part of such a talented team in developing new methods to inspire creativity and to explore and express the human condition.”
“The opportunities that will come from this kind of technology are endless. Across industries, we will see more brands and audiences turn to the metaverse and usher in the next era of brand and talent engagement.”
Jimmy Iovine
Jimmy Iovine, said: “I am always looking for new possibilities that advance entertainment and move the culture forward. YOOM is going to bring artists and brands into the Metaverse and Web3, and that feels really exciting.
“This team and the proprietary technology they’ve built levels the playing field for creatives and widens the space where communities can grow. I’m inspired to help define what the future of entertainment can look like.”
Added Iovine: “The opportunities that will come from this kind of technology are endless. Across industries, we will see more brands and audiences turn to the metaverse and usher in the next era of brand and talent engagement.
“To be on the ground floor of something so revolutionary is the most exciting part. At its core, music moves culture, it brings people together, whether in celebration or commiseration. Giving fans the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in a performance just makes that experience all the more special and impactful.
“For artists, audiences, and brands, the opportunity to bring to life an immersive experience is going to fundamentally change the way we create and consume music.”
Music Business Worldwide
