Jadu are Leading a Web3 AR Revolution
There’s been lots of talk about web3 and the metaverse being virtual reality focused. Many big tech companies have spent billions in capital to build the perceived metaverse. Meta, for instance, took out $10 billion to fund its metaverse project. However, progress in this area is questionable.
However, one company is quietly making waves in AR —but from another angle. Jadu AVAs, an AR outlet, is creating its own “mirrorverse” using augmented reality technology and they have brought in huge names in the movie and NFT industries to help create its next-level web3 gameplay.
With their avatar collection launching on September 7th, we took a deep dive into the brand to see if they’re a force to recognize in the industry and why they’re different from other metaverse projects.
Table of Contents
#2 - Community and Partnerships
#3 - High Ambitions Amid NFT Criticism
#4 - Bringing the “Metaverse” to Earth - Our Thoughts
WTF is Jadu AVA
Jadu is a web3-focused gaming platform that plans to use AR technology to bring gameplay into the real world. The ideology is different from other metaverse gaming platforms like BAYC’s Otherside, which focuses on virtual experiences.
The outlet launched in 2020 and raised $7 million in seed funding the following year to build its “mirrorverse,” which will use the real world as its canvas. It recently raised an additional $36 million in 2022 through a Series A funding round. Combined with the $4.4 million it realized from the Hoverboard collection's primary sale, the company has raised approximately $45 million.
The Mirrorverse will be accessible through a mobile app allowing players to connect their Ethereum wallets and turn their 3D animated NFTs into interactive playable characters known as AVAs.
AVAs are the robot avatars that’ll be at the center of the company’s gaming ecosystem. Based on the storyline, the AVAs are a race of robots from another world who somehow crash-landed through a portal to Earth. Each AVA belongs to one of 5 species Blink, Rukus, Disc, Yve & Aura. The collection will launch on September 7th and feature 11,111 unique characters.
The collection will also grant holders full IP rights. This is a shift from the recent CC0 NFT trends in the NFT space, where big projects like Moonbirds are all going to the public domain. By not taking the public route, Jadu AVAs can provide more value to their holders, allowing them to use their avatars however they want.
Compared to previous augmented reality experiences where users explore from a first-person perspective (think "Pokemon Go"), Jadu players can stay in one place and move their avatars around their bedrooms or backyards.
The team has already created sneak peeks and videos on how the gameplay works using their first two collections, Jetpacks and Hoverboards. Most of the maneuvers were done by selected users using the Beta app, which will be available to the public in September.
The experience is similar to that of a third-person video game, except that the real world serves as the environment.
Community and Partnerships
The forward-thinking project has been working with other popular communities since the launch of its first two collections, Jetpacks and Hoverboards, to help grow its follower base on various platforms. Its upcoming app will also feature avatars from these communities, including Cyberkongz, DeadFellaz, Meebits, and CryptoWalkers.
The brand had previously launched two collections, the first being the Jadu Jetpacks. The Jadu Hoverboards later followed it, which they launched in partnership with Snoop Dogg, Lewis Hamilton, and Grimes. Furthermore, they did a limited edition hoverboard drop in partnership with Elton John.
Their latest partnership sees them collaborate with Hollywood director Michael Bay to design rare AVAs. Bay, known for directing the world-acclaimed blockbuster Transformers, among others, will be working on 25% of the entire AVAs collection.
Speaking on the project, Bay said: “Throughout my career, I’ve tried to push many visual boundaries, and augmented reality is the next level to explore in that ongoing endeavor; it’s a fascinating new way to create content and give me a chance to explore this new world, so it feels like a natural evolution to partner with Jadu, who are at the forefront of AR innovation. It’s been fun to work on creating cool, compelling, interactive robots and machines as avatars.”
High Ambitions Amid NFT Criticism
NFTs have had their fair share of backlash from the gaming industry, with some developers and gamers calling them exploitative and unfair. Most recently, Mojang banned NFT integration from Minecraft, a popular video game ecosystem. In the press release where they described the technology as “digital ownership based on scarcity and exclusion.”
Asad J. Malik, the founder and CEO of Jadu, told VentureBeat that he totally agrees with the gaming community’s sentiments on NFTs. He mentioned that he wasn’t building a traditional gaming company but an AR company.
“Our mission is always to bring new forms of AR to the people in ways that are very experiential and immersive. We are about building forms of AR that haven’t existed before.”
What makes Jadu truly different?
The NFT space is not new to projects having crazy hype but then falling back to earth abruptly after the hype dies. However, few projects have distinguished themselves by offering a unique perspective that makes them different and attractive. For Jadu AVAs, their unique offering and proven track record are how they prioritize community building over anything else.
From the launch of their first project (Jetpacks), Jadu has sought to provide value to people as they enter the community. Underpinning all of this is a fully doxed team, which Jadu proudly shouts about - they even have some legendary names on the team like Ruben Fro, who heads up their animation team. Aside from the core team, Jadu has also undergone an impressive ramp-up of hiring new talent since launch, where the team now boasts over 50 people.
This has allowed Jadu to prioritize communication and social interaction with regular town hall meetings, easy access to team members on their Discord, and regular giveaways. To show how devoted they are to building a strong community around their project, the Jadu team allowed community members to vote on the mint price of the upcoming collection. All these have allowed Jadu to establish trust around their offering, which is why many followers are confident about the project's future.
Asad J. Malik, as the founder and CEO, leads this team of people and the rapid growth of Jadu in his own relaxed and inspirational leadership style, which garners admiration from community members of the Jadu organization. This, for us at NotAnotherNFT, is what really sets Jadu from the crowd; they have a leader who omits trust, transparency, and empathy - three amazing qualities shamefully sparse in the current Web3 and NFT space.
When is the Mint & How do I get an AVA?
The AVAs collection will launch on the 7th of September. It will be available only to holders of the Jadu Jetpack and Jadu Hoverboards and partner communities. So, to get an AVA, you'd either have to buy a Jetpack or Hoverboard or get your hands on Cyberkongz, DeadFellaz, Meebits, CryptoWalkers, among others. Details on the complete collabs list are on the premint page.
The drop is divided into four phases:
Phase 1 - Jetpack Airdrop: Jetpack holders will be airdropped one free AVA per item owned.
Phase 2 - Jadu Holders Sale: This phase will allow Jadu holders to mint the new collection for 0.0666ETH. The number of mints per wallet includes:
Jetpack - 1x AVA
Jetpack Pro - 2x AVA
Trippy Jetpack - 3x AVA
Hoverboard - 1x AVA
Signature Hoverboard - 2x AVA
Phase 3 - Partner Sale: Anyone holding a partner collection and a wallet that meets the requirements can mint AVAs for 0.111ETH using Jadu Homebase. This phase's supply consists of all leftover AVAs, although mint is not guaranteed.
Bringing the “Metaverse” to Earth - Our Thoughts
We’ve seen many projects make huge numbers in the NFT space, with each one "claiming" to bring something unique for others to copy. However, after doing the research on Jadu and, more importantly, the team behind Jadu, it is clear that the team is building for the long term and you would be hard pressed not back Jadu as succeeding to be one of the most successful Web3 brands in years to come.
Prior to this, the augmented reality side of NFTs in gaming hasn’t been explored on a large scale, unlike what Jadu is working to build. We believe the idea is more realistic than other metaverse projects currently in the works and might be a major contender to BAYC’s Otherside and Meta’s metaverse projects.
We can only wait for the app to be fully available to the public sometime in September to see how well they pull it off.
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