Amazon Leads $20M Investment Into Synthetic Celebrity Studio Superplastic

Amazon has led a $20 million Series A extension investment round into animated celebrity and toy studio Superplastic. 

In addition to the funding, Amazon Studios announced a first-look deal with Superplastic, and the two parties are currently in development on The Janky & Guggimon show, which features two existing synthetic celebrities made by Superplastic. The two characters, Janky and Guggimon, described as,  “the loveable idiot who spends his spare time scamming celebrities” and “a fashion icon and master manipulator who’s too narcissistic to care,” respectively, ” are already known within the Superplastic universe. 

The first-look deal will also include the creation of additional series and films with Superplastic characters. The Vermont-based studio creates animated celebs, vinyl toys and digital collectibles for use on social media, in music, games, web3, live experiences and more.

“Superplastic’s universe of synthetic celebrities have earned a cult following in every medium they’ve touched,” said Superplastic founder and CEO Paul Budnitz. “The new collaboration partnership with Amazon Studios reaches a massive audience and provides a new playground for us to wreak havoc worldwide. We’re grateful for the investment the Amazon Alexa Fund gave us to help us continue to grow the Superplastic Universe!”

Amazon led the round through its venture capital arm, the Alexa Fund, with other investors including Craft Ventures, Google Ventures, Galaxy Digital, Kering, Sony Japan, Scribble Ventures, Kakao, Animoca Brands, Day One Ventures and Betaworks. This round brings Superplastic’s total funding to $58 million.

“As we expand the Alexa Fund to address a wider range of consumer technologies that include ambient computing, smart devices, and the future of entertainment, we’re very excited to add Superplastic to our portfolio,” said Paul Bernard, director of the Alexa Fund. “Superplastic’s virtual celebrities delight audiences and meet their customers where they are, and we see them as demonstrative of a new class of IP that is going to be increasingly relevant with younger generations. We are excited to be an investor and to continue to help Superplastic and Amazon’s Media and Entertainment teams identify more ways to delight customers.”