Jun.7, 2012
London-based startup Makielab launched customizable 3D printed Avatar dolls creation site Makies.me as an alpha on May.19, 2012. Yesterday they announced their seed round investment of $1.4 million, led by early-stage investors Nordic VC funds Lifeline Ventures (Thinglink, Ditto) and Sunstone (Gidsy, Podio). The round was also joined by Anime and gaming industry veterans Matthew Wiggins, Daniel James and Cedric Littardi of superangel-fund Ynnis Ventures.
"We're making toys using game data and 3D printing," explains Alice Taylor, Makielab co-founder and CEO. "We call ourselves a smart toy company, and for us that means there's a digital side to it by default."
The first shipment of 3D-printed MAKIES action dolls has reached the early customers. The feedback was positive.
"We've seen amazing levels of creativity from our customers since letting the first few in during open alpha just a few weeks ago", says Alice Taylor, founder and CEO of MakieLab. "We're now hard at work to enable further customization of MAKIES, more creativity, and to expand to include digital and physical gaming."
"The toys industry is ripe for disruption and 3D printing opens up for a powerful blend of digital and physical." says Petteri Koponen, Partner at Lifeline Ventures.
"MAKIES are great proof of how 3D printing will impact our everyday life in so many subtle ways. My daughter is already saving her pocket money for a MAKIE and for her and her peers this physical customization will be the norm," adds Nikolaj Nyholm, Partner at Sunstone Capital.
MakieLab joins the ranks of culturally influential companies in the portfolio of Lifeline Ventures and Sunstone Capital – including Tinkercad, Supercell, Prezi, Gidsy, Layar and Applifier.
Source: MakieLab
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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