Singapore metaverse platform Bud raises $36.8m
Singapore-based metaverse user generated content (UGC) platform Bud has raised a Series B round of USD 36.8m led by Sequoia Capital India.
Other Investors include ClearVue Partners, Chinese internet technology company NetEase, and Northern Light Venture Capital. Existing investors GGV Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, and Source Code Capital re-upped. The proceeds will go toward iteration of an editing tool and development of global markets.
Bud was founded in 2019 by two former engineers from US social media company Snap. It offers easy-to-use no-code tools for people to create personalised 3D interactive content. The platform was launched in November last year and quickly became one of the 10 most used social apps in 38 countries across US, South America and Southeast Asia. It has more than 15m original 3D works.
Cloud-native and no-code tools have significantly decreased entry barriers and given users freedom in the creation of 3D content. Users do not need to master programming or modelling techniques, they can simply use built-in geometric modules to build a complete set of 3D interactive scenes.
In addition, users can add text, graphics, music, and video to the scene and customise the lighting or background. The whole process is done through a mobile app instead of via professional graphics software. There is a significant focus on attracting young users through sharing and entertainment features.
The global creative software and UGC market is expected to reach USD 63bn in 2024, with the number of users set to reach 2bn by 2024, according to Adobe.
Xverse, a Shenzhen-based 3D UGC platform, raised USD 120m in Series A funding this year led by GL Ventures and Sequoia Capital China. Metaverse is becoming an increasingly prevalent investment theme in China and across the region. In January, 5Y and Gaorong re-upped in a USD 100m Series B for Parametrix.ai, an artificial intelligence gaming company with metaverse applications.
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