Afun Interactive, a South Korea-based real-time 3D content creator, announced today that it has received KRW 7 billion in Series A bridge funding from Shinhan Asset Management.

Afun Interactive previously raised KRW 10 billion from CJ Investment, Company K Partners, and CJ ENM in a Series A round in 2021, and received a strategic investment from Twitch co-founder Kevin Lin last year.

Based on its world-class 3D production technology, the company is pioneering a new genre of virtual K-pop with IPs such as virtual artists APOKI and LESHA. In June, APOKI and LESHA were ranked as the No. 1 and No. 2 virtual artists in Korea by Virtual Humans, a leading U.S. virtual influencer information site.

Apoki has collaborated with global brands such as Lotte Group’s Osae Naei commercials, Sony and Tommy Hilfiger, and Dolce & Gabbana, demonstrating the convergence of the real and virtual economies. In January, he was invited to attend the Kyoto exhibition of world-renowned artist Andy Warhol. At the end of last year, he was a digital ambassador for the 10th anniversary of premium contemporary editorial shop Beaker and appeared live on Mnet’s “M Countdown,” proving that the boundaries between humans and virtual humans are collapsing.

Apoki has been recognized for his musicality as a unique virtual K-pop artist and has been releasing music in collaboration with global producers who have created global hits. It is also distributed worldwide by ‘The Orchard’, a global media distribution company. In order to strengthen their global activities, they signed an agent contract with Sony Music Solutions, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment.

“As the virtual entertainment and metaverse markets gain traction, our 3D content creation technology that realizes character IPs as artists will become even more valuable,” said Do-gyun Kwon, CEO of Afun Interactive. “With this investment, we will further strengthen our technology to become a leading metaverse company.”