Bringing brands and bands to the metaverse, Karta raises $1.1 million

Bringing brands and musicians to the metaverse Karta gives brands and bands a fresh look to their marketing campaigns as they seek out new audiences on Roblox, Fortnite and Decentraland. The studio has worked with brands like Unilever, Amazon Music and Ronald McDonald’s House to combine marketing, entertainment and bring them into an interactive gaming space.

Among its work to date, it recently launched TWICE Square ‘a fan experience built for K-pop megastars TWICE, through a partnership with Republic Records and JYP Management’. According to Karta ‘TWICE Square is the current #1 music experience in Roblox and the third most popular branded experience overall on the platform in 2023’.

The UK-based studio, which was founded in 2021 by Tony Barnes and Erik Londré has raised a Seed funding round of $1.1 million led by GameTech Ventures. Funds will help Karta to grow its team and build out its offering. 

The round also includes Toikido, Sports Loft, ex-Chief Catalogue Officer to Hipgnosis Amy Thomson, CEO of Sports Loft Charlie Greenwood, Chairman of UK Finance Robert Wigley, Powster founder and CEO Ste Thompson and Big Ideas Group.

“Erik, Tony and the team at Karta are building the very best brand experiences on leading gaming platforms with consistently exceptional results. By adopting a partnership mindset with a long-term view and a focus on rich experiences and fun for communities of fans, they are pioneering a new medium of deep engagement with consumers. With an experienced and talented team, we’re delighted to be joining their journey with this investment,” says Lachlan Gowrie-Smith, Partner at GameTech Ventures.

“We’re incredibly grateful for the backing and support received so far from some of the most well-respected figures in the industries we work with. They, like us, know the metaverse is the real deal and is delivering real word results that matter. The investment raised is going to be crucial in helping us service the growing demand for metaverse experiences by investing in our team, platform and regional expansions," says Londré. 

Main image: TWICE Square