Ex-Disney Chief Invests in NFT Startup Genies

Former Disney chairman Bob Iger has joined the board of Genies after making an investment in the NFT/metaverse startup, the company announced on Twitter Monday (March 14).

“Thrilled to be joining the @genies Board of Directors to help @akashrnigam and company empower humans to create the ‘mobile apps of web3’: avatar ecosystems,” Iger wrote in his own tweet.

Read more: PYMNTS NFT Series: NFTs Used by Artists to Create Musical ‘Middle Class’

Iger spent 15 years as CEO of Disney — from 2005 to 2020 — before stepping down as chairman in 2021.

Genies offers a 3D avatar and NFT production kit that lets musicians (and others) create NFT wearables, accessories, tattoos and other limited edition goods that can serve as their fans’ avatars.

The company says it owns a 99% share of the celebrity avatar market and counts Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group among its clients. The goal of the partnership, Warner said last year, is to “facilitate fan reach across immersive platforms and metaverses.”

Musicians including Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Lil Nas X, Jennifer Lopez and Cardi B have all licensed their likenesses to the company.

Read more: Disney Names SVP for Its Entry Into the Metaverse

As for Iger’s former company, Disney announced last month it had appointed Mike White, an executive in the Media and Entertainment Distribution group, to launch its metaverse strategy.

“For nearly 100 years, our company has defined and redefined entertainment by leveraging technology to bring stories to life in deeper, more impactful ways,” CEO Bob Chapek wrote in an email to Disney staff. “Today, we have an opportunity to connect those universes and create an entirely new paradigm for how audiences experience and engage with our stories.”

Chapek had announced Disney’s metaverse foray in November 2021, saying this would come with advances to storytelling and combine “elements of the physical and digital world.”  The CEO called the metaverse the “next great storytelling frontier.”