Sanrio, owner of Hello Kitty, My Melody and Kuromi, has entered into a new partnership with AI avatar technology company Genies to launch a “personalized” digital experience for fans.
The first of these projects will feature a character named Gudetama, whose humor and relatable personality resonate strongly with Gen Z and Millennial fans, making it a natural fit for early discovery on emerging platforms, according to Sanrio and Genies. The experience is set to launch later this year, with additional characters “to follow over time.”
Sanrio and Genies say the AI technology involved is “used to enable an interactive communication experience for fans and is not intended to generate or replace the original creative work,” and that Sanrio will “maintain full oversight throughout the creation process to ensure that every character remains true to its origins and the brand that fans have cherished for decades.”
According to the companies, “all character models and representations are individually created and supervised by human creators to preserve each character’s personality, visual identity, and the integrity of the original world and story.”
The news comes on the heels of AI avatar company Genie’s signing a major deal with MLB to turn every player in the league into AI characters, and a major deal with King Records for AI companion versions of the label’s cartoon IP characters. To date, Genies has raised $200 million from investors including Silver Lake, BOND, and Bob Iger.
“Sanrio has built something truly unusual: a world of characters that fans carry with them at every stage of their lives,” said Akash Nigam, CEO and founder of Genies. “At Genies, our avatar technology has the ability to transform iconic IP into interactive characters while preserving the integrity and soul of why the characters are loved. By working with Sanrio, we’re introducing new fan-first features that deepen the relationship between fans and the characters they’ve grown up with.”
Sanrio CEO Craig Takiguchi said, “Sanrio has always believed in the power of characters to bring people together.” “Our strategic collaboration with Genies allows us to explore new technologies that bring our characters to life in an interactive way, creating opportunities for early discovery and engagement with the next generation of audiences. This approach also incorporates our technology-enabled ‘Agency’ philosophy and will be a key pillar in building relationships with current and future fans, while keeping our characters authentic and true to their beloved personalities.”
