Condense raises $4.5M, opens live music to the metaverse studio

Music metaverse startup has raised a $4.5 million financing round to expand its first-to-market tech that enables streaming live performances into virtual worlds for viewing without the need for 3D headsets.

The startup uses cutting-edge computer vision, machine learning and proprietary streaming infrastructure to capture and embed live 3D video (Video 3.0) into any metaverse game, mobile app or platform created with Unity or Unreal Engine.

Because the performances are live, fans can interact with the artist, and they can respond in real-time, giving shout-outs, answering questions, or performing a requested track.

Here is a demo video of rapper Grove performing live, captured and streamed by Condense in Video 3.0.

Condense also announced the opening of the world’s first metaverse studio in partnership with Watershed to give musicians access to the technology. The studio is a “metaverse-first” event space that can accommodate a live audience. A London studio will open soon, followed by other studios internationally.

The funding round was led by LocalGlobe, 7percent Ventures, and Deeptech Labs, alongside angels including a platinum-selling grime artist Tom Blomfield (Monzo), music manager Grace Ladoja MBE and Ian Hogarth. the founder of Song Kick.

Bruce Houghton is Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank and serves as a Senior Advisor to Bandsintown which acquired both publications in 2019. He is the Founder and President of the Skyline Artists Agency and a professor for the Berklee College Of Music.