Digital Village, a platform specializing in the metaverse and NFT marketplace, has raised 4 million euros from Bold (Business Opportunities for Loréal Development), The Venture Reality Fund, Venrex, and the British Fashion Council. This marks the first venture capital investment by L’Oréal in the metaverse universe and the first investment made by BOLD's Female Founders initiative launched in 2022.
Founded in 2021 by Evelyn Mora, Digital Village develops a Metaverse-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform that allows brands to create immersive 3D virtual worlds to foster creative expression. The American startup provides turnkey technological solutions to establish a lasting presence in the metaverse, its "MaaS" includes a suite of products such as avatars, assets, personalized environments, VR support, fiat and crypto payments with full web3 integration.
The goal is to create sustainable, scalable, and modular technologies so that brands, communities, and creators can create, play, and transfer value in virtual worlds.
The investment is led by Bold Ventures, which is known for its involvement in beauty and retail sectors, and is also the first investment by its Female Founders initiative. The initiative aims to support the development of female-led technology startups.
The Venture Reality Fund and Venrex, both based in the UK, also participated in this funding round. The British Fashion Council, a non-profit organization that supports and promotes British fashion designers, has also invested in the startup.
The rise of technological revolutions has given birth to new trends in consumption and new expectations. Consumers are looking for a unique customer experience and virtual solutions that would enhance their physical shopping experiences. The metaverse is continuously evolving to better meet these needs and is slowly becoming the future of the customer relationship, posing a new challenge for brands.
This funding will allow Digital Village to expand the capabilities of its platform by adding new tools to fuel the development of the 3D world, advanced avatar customization, and virtual storefront creation.
Overall, this investment signals a growing interest in the potential of the metaverse and its impact on various industries, including beauty and fashion. As more companies invest in this technology, it will be interesting to see how the metaverse will develop and what new opportunities it will bring to the market.
