The future has come. The hyper-realistic digital human and the immersive experience it brings have become the creative direction of the Metaverse’s innovative applications.
Created by Ranmai Technology, AYAYI, the first hyper-realistic digitized human made in China and the first ‘Meta-human,’ has rapidly gained popularity since its debut in May of 2021, garnering nearly 40,000 fans overnight and 3 million views on its first post. AYAYI has not only collaborated with big brands such as Guerlain, Louis Vuitton, BOSE, and Ambposial but also joined Alibaba in September 2021 and became the digital navigator for the sale event “Tmall Super Brand Day.”
Virtual humans have become essential for this year’s Lunar New Year celebration ceremonies on Chinese mainstream television and streaming platforms. Jiangsu TV, Dragon TV, Bilibili, and other media all integrated virtual humans into their New Year celebration ceremonies. In addition, virtual humans, VR, AR, and other advanced technologies will also be utilized in the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics. CCTV has recently launched the first AI sign language anchor; starting from the Winter Olympics, the AI anchor will provide language services for hearing-impaired audiences.
Due to the high consensus and extensive participation of various parties in the industry, among the many innovative sectors of the Metaverse, virtual humans and the immersive experience they bring have become one of the first to be explored and implemented. According to iiMedia Research, China’s virtual idol-related market is valued at 107.49 billion yuan (US$16.9 billion) in 2021, 13 times more than the value in 2017. Furthermore, in 2023, it is anticipated to reach 300 billion yuan (US$47.2 Billion).
Hylink, Ranmai Technology, and Joicy Studio are partnering together to explore the development and implementation of virtual humans and Metaverse.
On Jan 15, 2022, Hylink signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Joicy Studio and Ranmai Technology, aiming to establish a joint venture (Hylink holding 40% of the shares, Ranmai Technology holding 30%, and Joicy Studio holding 30%).
The joint venture will explore the production and construction of digital content in the Metaverse, injecting new momentum into the business era of digital transformation, and contributing to the development of digital industries in key areas and the digital economy.
With the establishment of the joint venture, Hylink will utilize its substantial client resources, media resources, and big data technology, and integrate the advantages of all parties, to provide support for the commercial realization of the digital virtual IP of the joint venture; Ranmai Technology will provide technical support to the creation and development of digital virtual IP; Joicy Studio will be responsible for the development and optimization of the engine technology, as well as the implementation of digital virtual IP to television and other commercial uses.
The joint venture’s current business plans include:
- Integrating existing digital virtual IP resources of all three parties, exploring new models of brand partnerships, and creating a Metaverse digital brand
- Creating hyper-realistic digital avatar IPs in the fields of fashion, sports, entertainment, etc. and building immersive online and offline integrated interactive scenes to achieve commercialization
- Combining digital avatars and a variety of narrative techniques to establish a Metaverse world view and to create more channels for sales generation
- Creating original virtual IP characters to be implemented in films and series as virtual actors
- Exploring commercial realization in other business directions in the field of digital virtual technology and the Metaverse
Ranmai Technology is a leading technology company in China. Ranmai focuses on the operation and management of digital assets. The company has developed China’s first hyper-realistic digital human, AYAYI, and other hyper-realistic digital human matrices. In addition, Ranmai manages and operates AYAYI’s digital content and properties. Within six months, AYAYI has established partnerships with many brands, including Porsche, L’Oreal, Bose, and P&G. In addition, Ranmai technology also involves the branding of virtual humans, incubation of digital brands, and multimedia digital artworks, exhibitions, etc., operating digital properties from multiple dimensions.
Joicy Studio is a technology and IP-driven entertainment content provider. It is an authorized High- and New-Technology Enterprise (HNTE), a National Animation Enterprise, and a ‘Gazelle’ Enterprise. The company holds a large number of high-quality IPs. In addition to its original creations, the company also maintains long-term partnership relationships with well-known writers. As a company with game development capabilities, animation production capabilities, and film and television production capabilities, Joicy Studio has made large-scale exploration and practice of the pan-entertainment application of game engine technology in the past five years and has successfully used game engines to produce animation games, animation series’, 3D comics, VR games, interactive novels, film, and television special effects, 3D printing figures and other products. Currently, Joicy is working on the interaction of digital art assets between animation and games and the interaction of virtual shooting processes between animation and real people. With the iteration of technology, the improvement of project experience, and the accumulation of IP assets and digital assets, Joicy’s ability to convert IP will steadily increase and it will be able to start developing new entertainment content directions.
Hylink Digital Solutions Co., Ltd is an information technology group that integrates global and full-link digital management capabilities, with the core of driving growth. With the new demands and opportunities from the rising immersive internet environment, Hylink Digital pioneers the development and incubation of digital virtual technology. Hylink Digital is constantly exploring innovative marketing solutions and expanding communication channels for clients in the area of emerging technologies such as digital technology, virtual avatars, and the Metaverse, in order to achieve the growth of digital asset value.
Read the full article here in Chinese.