Former Disney CEO Bob Iger enters Metaverse by investing in Genies

FILE PHOTO: Bob Iger, Executive Chairman of The Walt Disney Company arrives at the world premiere of the film ‘The King’s Man’ in Leicester Square on December 6, 2021 in London, Britain. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

March 14, 2022

(Reuters) – Former Disney chairman Bob Iger is investing and joining the board of Metaverse startup Genies, the company said on Monday, the executive’s first such move since the entertainment giant departed at the end of 2021.

Genies, popular with celebrities like Rihanna, Lil Nas X and Jennifer Lopez, said it owns 99% of the celebrity avatar market share and includes Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group as clients, for which it also makes NFTs, or non-fungible tokens .

“I’ve always been drawn to the intersection of technology and art, and Genies offers unique and compelling ways to harness the power of this combination to enable new forms of creativity, expression and communication,” said Iger, who owns more than one year has invested decade at Disney.

Iger was Disney’s CEO from 2005 to 2020 and stepped down as chairman last year.

Genies has raised $100 million from venture capital investor Mary Meeker’s firm Bond and Brayer Capital, among others.

(Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)