Camila Cabello, Paris Hilton, and Priyanka Chopra Invest in Avatar Startup Genies

Genies, the virtual avatar company that makes digital cartoon-style versions of celebrities, can now count Camila Cabello, Paris Hilton and Priyanka Chopra as its latest investors, the company tells Rolling Stone. The three women are part of Genies' previously closed $65 million funding round led by venture capitalist Mary Meeker, and Genies CEO and founder Akash Nigam says they represent a portion of the round earmarked for female investors, as Genies looks to be more inclusive in both its investment and company makeup. Cabello, Hilton and Chopra signed on quickly as the funding round closed within two weeks, and Nigam says Hilton in particular gravitated toward Genies, given her focus on the crypto space and Genies' place within selling NFTs. All three will have their own Genies developed as well. Genies develops digital avatars that have artists' likenesses -- and those avatars help advertise and sell digital wearables and collectables fans can buy, typically as crypto-backed NFTs.