In this series of articles, we are focusing on the Japanese startups that recently got in the spotlight, discussing their concepts, goals and activities. Today’s company is Aww.
Overview
Aww Inc. is the first virtual human company in Japan representing Asia.
Mission
To create new concepts that can be part of culture, even if it’s a little twisted, we hope to share our message and get people thinking.
Company Background
After more than 10 years of research in human movement and facial expression, Aww is a leader in creating and producing humans in the virtual realm that look no different from real humans. In addition to our superior development and technology, we have total creativity in all aspects of creating a virtual human - including production, direction, and storytelling.
By sharing CEO Koichi Kishimoto, Aww and Modeling Cafe share resources and work as a close team to create the world’s best quality Virtual Human.Animation Cafe is an award winning special team centering on talented animators to produce stunning CG and VFX.
Vhuman（Virtual Human）
1. imma
imma is Japan’s first virtual model easily identifiable with her signature pink bob, but not easy to tell she is virtual.Always collaborating with top artists and brands her realness and authenticity in a world of virtually unreal social media makes her also a contrarian voice for the future.
Selected as “New 100 Talent To Watch” by Japan Economics Entertainment. She appears in numerous headlines from fashion to business magazines, TV and online.
See more: https://aww.tokyo/vhuman/imma/
2. Ria
Japanese virtual human debut in 2019.She calls herself as a “newman” that exists between the earth and virtual. Since her debut, she has appeared in fashion magazines in Japan and worldwide.
View more: https://aww.tokyo/vhuman/ria/
3. plusticboy
imma’s younger brother who appeared in 2019. He became a hot topic with imma’s cool and cute brother. Age unknown. His personality is very shy. His first debut as a model is SLY × PUMA collection in 2020, February.
View more: https://aww.tokyo/vhuman/plusticboy/
4. Asu
He also belongs to the virtual human company Aww Inc.
His main theme of design is called “Mojibake” in Japanese. Mojibake means garbled text in Japanese. The word Mojibake was born from the internet culture a.k.a virtual culture.
He puts this Mojibake into the brand using his identity as a virtual human.
His favorite word is that “That’s all it is: Information. Even a simulated experience or a dream; simultaneous reality and fantasy.” from the Ghost in the Shell. He inspired his motto” Nothing is true” and brought it into his design and to see what impact it brings to this brand.
View more: https://aww.tokyo/vhuman/asu/
5. ella
Ella is Disney’s first virtual human making her debut in October of 2020.
She loves everything Disney, from the goods to the events.
View more: https://aww.tokyo/vhuman/ella/
Total Funding Amount
About $1M
(Source: StartupDB)
Investors
Japan: Coral Capital
(Source: StartupDB)
Web URL
Aww (Corporate profile)
Aww (Instagram)
https://www.instagram.com/aww.tokyo/
