Hong Kong – ViLab Limited, a Hong Kong-based metaverse service provider, has formed an exclusive partnership with Actoplus Holding to develop virtual idols and other metaverse technology, with the goal of capturing opportunities from the transformation of digital brand marketing in Mainland China.
According to consultancy iiMedia research, the size of the virtual idol market in China has reached US$540m in 2020, a 70% jump from a year earlier and was expected to reach US$17b in 2021.
Since the founding of ViLab, the company and its partners have been developing and upgrading virtual human and background technologies such as face-shifting, lip synchronization, and voice cloning.
Through the new collaboration, ViLab and Actoplus will be working together on the creation and maintenance of virtual idols. These characters can be deployed for an array of commercial functions, such as brand endorsement, live-streaming broadcasts, and both online and offline marketing campaigns.
Ric Wu, ViLab’s chairman and founder, commented that they are delighted about this collaboration as virtual idols have been a dominant feature in their metaverse vision since the company’s founding.
“Access to the world’s biggest consumer market where digital marketing is seen as one of the next frontiers will give us the perfect platform to test and launch many of our ideas and technology,” said Wu.
Meanwhile, Vincent Lau, Actoplus’ chairman, shared that the collaboration with ViLab will make use of Actoplus’s expertise in digital marketing and e-commerce to jointly develop business in Mainland China.
“At the same time, Actoplus will connect ViLab with existing and potential partners in the metaverse space, to further explore the range of possibilities presented by the new digital era and reinvent business models for the future,” said Lau.
