AmazeVR Raises $17M in Series B Funding to Scale its Virtual Concert Platform

AmazeVR Raises $17M in Series B Funding to Scale its Virtual Concert Platform

AmazeVR, a Los Angeles-based virtual concert platform raised a $17 million Series B funding to create immersive music experiences through virtual reality (VR) concerts.  AmazeVR previously had raised $15 million, brining its total funding to-date to approximately $49 million. The startup is preparing virtual concerts and a music metaverse service that would be available across all major VR app stores and work with next-generation headsets such as the Meta Quest Pro and Apple’s own rumored VR headsets. 

The entertainment industry has seen some artists shift to virtual concerts to compensate for events impacted by the pandemic. The virtual platform also provides a bigger reach to audience who otherwise could not attend from across the globe. AmazeVR is betting that virtual shows, which have become popular among artists and fans since the pandemic, are going to take over the entertainment industry.

The funding comes in the wake of the startup’s joint venture announcement with K-pop agency SM Entertainment. One of the strategic investors, CJ ENM, stated that, “The virtual reality entertainment industry is growing rapidly, and we believe that music and gaming are two of the most promising sectors for future development,”.

The AmazeVR team traveled to 15 U.S. cities during summer for its first commercial virtual concert, Enter Thee Hottieverse, a tour with rap artist Megan Thee Stallion through AMC Theaters. Lee shared some key statistics from this concert, the company had about 75% attendance rates for its concerts, about 4.3 times the average theater occupancy rate estimated at 15%-20%. The ticket prices were $20-$25, ~2.5times more expensive than the average movie theater ticket price (~$9.17).

AmazeVR co-CEO Steve Lee said that his startup plans to use the financing to expand partnerships with artists and their management agencies, labels and publishers. He added that it is currently in talks with potential partners to work with top artists in the U.S. “We’re also preparing to produce virtual concerts with SM Entertainment artists and expand to other K-pop companies in South Korea,” Lee said. “We plan to hire more artificial intelligence engineers, [Epic Game’s] Unreal Engine engineers, and visual effects (VFX) artists” to continue the advancement of its technology and the development of premier virtual concerts.