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Jadu: AR Gaming in the Metaverse

An augmented reality Web3 gaming platform

Virtual city
Written by

Ray Wu

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2 min

Alumni Ventures portfolio company Jadu has created an augmented reality (AR) Web3 gaming world called “the Mirrorverse.” Jadu’s platform is built around virtual items owned by its community and allows players to bring avatars to life with mobile devices in their own real-world space.

Metaverse Pioneers and Celebrity Collaborations

Tech giants like Apple and Meta are in a “deep, philosophical competition” to build the collection of technologies and platforms that will form the Metaverse — a connected virtual world in which users from across the world will interact, play together, and own and trade digital properties. Many technologies will be used in the formation of the Metaverse, including virtual and augmented reality software and hardware, Web3 services and platforms, and dedicated graphics processors.

Source: NewsCrypto.io, “What Is Metaverse?,” December 3, 2021

Jadu has built leading AR technology with a strong team of next-gen storytellers and technical talent. CEO Asad Malik is an AR technology pioneer with seven years of AR application development experience, who has developed critically acclaimed narrative storytelling projects. COO Jake Sally was Head of Development at Verizon’s content innovation arm, where he oversaw a multimillion-dollar fund investing in creators and testing business models.

Jadu has achieved impressive traction with users. After closing its first seed round in 2020, the company reports that it quadrupled revenue year over year. Jadu has sold $4.4 million in virtual hoverboards and launched multiple collaborations with celebrities to release signature hoverboards designed with their input — including Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton, rapper Snoop Dogg, and director Michael Bay. Jadu achieved all of this having only raised less than $9 million prior to its Series A.

Jadu and Michael Bay Reveal 3D Avatars

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What We Like About Jadu

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    Established Co-Investors

    The company’ Series A was led by Bain Capital Ventures, the VC arm of the leading private investment firm. BCV has invested over $4.6 billion into 400 rounds, with a focus on fintech, cloud applications, software infrastructure, commerce, and marketing tech.
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    Token Return Potential

    Potential returns would come not only from equity valuation, but also from token issuance and expected appreciation as the community expands and incorporates other Web3 communities.
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    Accomplished Team

    The team brings a combination of storytelling, business model innovation, and experience in game development around augmented reality technology.

How We Are Involved

Nassau Street Ventures (for the Princeton community) sponsored Alumni Ventures’ investment in Jadu’s $36 million Series A led by Bain. Siblings funds Chestnut Street Ventures (for the Penn State community), Strawberry Creek Ventures (for the UC Berkeley community), and The Yard Ventures (for the Harvard community) also participated in the round, alongside AV’s Blockchain Fund, Deep Tech Fund, and Total Access Fund.

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Contact [email protected] for additional information. To see additional risk factors and investment considerations, visit av-funds.com/disclosures.

Written by

Ray Wu

Ray is a seasoned venture capitalist with over 20 years of investing experience across a wide range of industries and geographies. Before joining Alumni Ventures, Ray was a partner and adviser at several global venture funds focusing on AI, Web3, FinTech and SaaS investment opportunities across the U.S. and Asia Pacific. Earlier, he spent more than 10 years in the corporate venture space: He was the managing director of HP’s new business ventures, responsible for startup technology evaluation, new business incubation, VC relationships, and minority investments, and earlier at Cisco Systems, holding several senior positions leading investment, M&A, internal incubation, and global consulting. Previously, Ray was a managing partner of a leading Internet consulting firm working with Fortune 1000 companies across North America. He earned a dual MBA degree from the University of California, Berkeley and Columbia University.

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